Tokyo: Mandatory testing for COVID-19 is being introduced by the Japanese government from December 30 upon arrival for travelers from China due to an increase in the number of confirmed cases there, Japanese media reported on Tuesday.

The measure applies to travelers from mainland China and those who visited it within the past seven days.

They are required to take a COVID-19 test upon their arrival in Japan.

Those who test positive will be quarantined for seven days.

This decision was announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, the Kyodo news agency reported.

In November, China saw a record increase in local COVID-19 outbreaks. Due to the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, the authorities introduced partial lockdowns in some areas while also forcing their residents to undergo PCR testing on a daily basis. In particular, starting from November 24, restrictive measures were tightened in a number of China's major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Against this background, some Chinese cities — Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and others — were hit by mass protests. The rioters demanded the immediate lifting of lockdowns, the abolition of regular PCR testing, and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

On Friday, media reported that about 37 million people in China could have contracted COVID-19 on a single day last week, making the country's outbreak the largest in the world to date. It was noted that up to 248 million people, or nearly 18% of the population, were likely to have contracted the coronavirus in the first 20 days of December.

(With UNI inputs)