TOKYO: Japan introduced mandatory pre-arrival tuberculosis screening on Monday (June 23) for people planning to stay over three months, starting with those from the Philippines and Nepal, a government official said.
Kyodo News Agency reported that Vietnam is expected to be added to the list in September, with Indonesia, Myanmar and China to follow.
The number of foreign nationals diagnosed with the infectious disease while in Japan is on the rise, and they are comprised mostly of people from the six countries, according to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry.
The screening requirement will initially apply to citizens who normally reside in the Philippines and Nepal, and plan to stay in Japan over a mid to long term.
They will be obliged to provide evidence that they are not infected with tuberculosis before their arrival or will be denied entry.
While tuberculosis is curable and preventable, it killed an estimated 1.25 million people in 2023 and has likely regained its status as the world's deadliest infectious disease after being temporarily overtaken by Covid-19, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In Japan, the number of tuberculosis patients fell below 10 per 100,000 people for the first time in 2021, reaching 9.2 and placing the country in the WHO's low-incidence category. The rate declined further to 8.1 in 2023, according to the latest health ministry data. - Bernama-Kyodo
