Japan retracts flight bookings ban after criticisms

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida admitted on Thursday that the decision to stop taking reservations for inbound international flights caused public confusion and requested the transport ministry to consider people's wishes to travel home.  

The transport ministry on Wednesday issued a request to international airlines to stop taking new reservations for flights coming into Japan until the end of December as an emergency precaution to defend against the new omicron variant. The ministry said Thursday it has retracted the request after receiving criticisms that the ban was too strict. Japan has reported two cases of the omicron variant, which was first reported in South Africa last week.