Japan's transport ministry has cancelled its blanket ban on new reservations for inbound flights and asked airlines to accommodate the needs of returning Japanese, a senior government spokesperson said on Thursday.
The government last month told airlines not to take new reservations for flights to Japan for December in light of the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
But the abrupt measure stirred up worries among those who had intended to return to Japan for year-end holidays, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the move had caused confusion.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference that Kishida had asked the transport ministry, which oversees the airline industry, to be mindful of returning Japanese.
"I understand the transport ministry has cancelled its instruction for the blanket suspension of new reservations and asked airlines anew to give sufficient consideration to the needs of returning Japanese nationals," Matsuno said.
Airlines now take new reservations as long as the number of passengers entering Japan remains below the latest upper limit of 3,500 a day, which was lowered from 5,000 last month, a transport ministry official said.
China will always be a good neighbor, friend and partner of mutual trust with Russia, the state television quoted China president Xi Jinping as saying, as he mets Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is no longer in a life-threatening condition after he was shot in an assassination attempt when leaving a government meeting on Wednesday, a government minister said.
US President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to face off in two debates on June 27 and Sept. 10, setting up the highest stakes moments yet of the race for the White House.
The number of people killed by weekend flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province has risen to 67 and 20 are still missing, authorities said on Thursday, as the government plans to relocate survivors to safer areas.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot and wounded in an attempted assassination on Wednesday, the government office said.
The UAE’s new Blue Residency visa further cements UAE’s role as a global leader in sustainability says COP28 President and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber.
The UAE has strongly condemned the attack on the Slovakian Prime Minister, who suffered life-threatening injuries, after a 71-year-old man shot and wounded him in an attempted assassination on Wednesday.
The UAE has announced a long-term residency scheme for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to environmental protection, sustainability, circular economy and related areas.