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Japan to include US, China, UK in entry ban list

Apr 01 (NHK) - Japan is planning to place an entry ban on foreign nationals from an additional 49 countries and territories as the coronavirus pandemic expands.

Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu revealed the plan on Tuesday. The additional areas will include the United States, Canada, and all of China and South Korea as well as Britain and Greece, covering most of Europe.

The updated list will cover a total of 73 countries and territories, including Africa, South America and parts of the Middle East.

Foreigners who have been to any of those regions within 14 days of arriving in Japan will not be allowed entry.

Motegi also said the Foreign Ministry raised travel alerts for those 49 countries and territories to level 3, urging Japanese nationals to avoid traveling to them.

The alerts for all countries and territories other than those ranked level 3 were raised to level 2. Japanese nationals are being warned against making any non-essential trips to such places.

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Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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A man in his 30s was referred to prosecutors after allegedly feeding a chocolate snack to a marmot at an animal cafe in Osaka Prefecture, despite the risk that the treat could cause poisoning or even death in the squirrel-family animal.