Society

Japan to refuse entry to foreign travelers with unpaid medical bills

Jun 15 (Kyodo) - The Japanese government said Thursday foreign travelers with unpaid medical bills will be denied entry to the country in the future, with the number of foreign visitors set to surge in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

Authorities will screen foreign visitors based on information provided by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to the Justice Ministry and foreigners with a record of unpaid bills will in principle be denied entry.

According to a survey conducted by the health ministry, 80 percent of medical institutions in Japan treated foreign patients in fiscal 2015, of which 35 percent were unable to collect bills.

Details of the measures, including the amount of unpaid bills warranting denial of entry, will be set by the two ministries before the planned start of the system in fiscal 2019.

The government could set up a scheme modeled after that of other countries. In Britain, for example, travelers with unpaid medical bills of over 500 pounds ($670) are denied their entry into the country.

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