Japan has asked international airlines to stop taking new reservations for all flights arriving in Japan until the end of December as the country further tightens its border controls against a new coronavirus variant, the transportation ministry said Wednesday.
Those who have already made reservations are not affected, although flights may be canceled if there are insufficient passengers, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said. Transit passengers are also unaffected. Japan is a major transit hub for flights to and from Asia.
The move comes as Japan confirmed a second case of the omicron variant in a person who arrived from Peru via Doha, one day after it reported its first case in a Namibian diplomat.
