Mar 09 (NHK) - Japan's top government spokesperson says he expects that a significant number of foreign students now waiting to enter Japan may be able to do so by late May.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu was speaking about Japan's anti-coronavirus border restrictions on Wednesday.
New entries of foreign visitors, excluding tourists, resumed on March 1 for the first time in about three months.
Starting next Monday, the daily cap on arrivals from abroad will be raised to 7,000. The government is also planning to treat foreign students preferentially, using vacant seats on flights on weekdays, when there are fewer visitors traveling for business.
Matsuno said an estimated 150,000 people are waiting to enter despite having been given permission to study in Japan. He said it is extremely important to allow their entry, in terms of building friendly ties with other countries and raising Japan's educational and research capabilities.
He said the government will work to ensure foreign students can enter Japan smoothly and steadily. He suggested that many such students will be able to enter by late May, either by using the preferential scheme or the usual framework.
