Japan is opening, Gimpo-Haneda route to be resumed

Travelers from Korea will be able to go to Japan from June 10, but only on group tours.

The international terminal at Gimpo Airport is deserted on Sunday ahead of the resumption of international flights, including on the Gimpo-Haneda route. [YONHAP]

Travelers from Korea will be able to go to Japan from June 10, but only on group tours.

Flights between Gimpo and Haneda will also resume next month, and entry procedures will be simplified, with travelers coming from Korea not having to undergo Covid-19 tests after landing in Japan.

According to a report from Japan's Sankei Shimbun, the governments of Korea and Japan have begun final coordination on reopening air routes between Gimpo and Haneda from June 15, which have been suspended for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The two governments were in talks with the aim of resuming operations by June 1, but there was a delay due to the time needed to find airport staff and healthcare personnel,” the newspaper reported Saturday.

The route between Gimpo and Haneda is considered a particularly symbolic bridge between Seoul and Tokyo since it's so much easier than the Incheon-Narita route. The route was used by more than two million people per year before the pandemic.

Discussions on the resumption of the Gimpo-Haneda route began after President Yoon Suk-yeol discussed it with a visiting Japanese delegation, including members of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, on May 11, a day after his inauguration.

Beginning June 10, Japan will open its borders to foreign tourists, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last Thursday evening. In April 2020, Japan banned foreigners from entering the country for tourism.

To prevent the spread of Covid-19, however, only package tours booked through travel agencies will be allowed for the time being.

A cap on the accepted number of visitors a day to Japan, which includes Japanese citizens, foreign students and also package tour participants, will be doubled from 10,000 to 20,000 from June 1.

Travel agencies are required to make sure group tours comply with virus protocols, such as mask-wearing.

Group tours will be able to travel around Japan freely, using public transportation, but they must stick to a set itinerary.

Japan plans to gradually accept more tourists after seeing how the first groups affect its Covid-19 situation.

Starting June 1, tourists coming from 98 countries and regions — including Korea, the United States, and China — will be exempted from Covid-19 testing and quarantine after entry.

Currently, quarantine measures for all inbound travelers are classified into three groups — red, yellow and blue — based on the origin country’s Covid-19 situation and the risk of infection.

The group with the lowest Covid-19 infection rate — classified “Blue” — will be exempted from testing and quarantine when entering the country regardless of whether they have received three vaccine doses.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare unveiled Thursday the list of 98 countries classified as “Blue,” from which 80 percent of total arrivals to Japan come from.

On Sunday, Korea logged 12,654 new Covid-19 infections, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

That was the lowest Covid-19 figure reported on a Sunday in 18 weeks since Jan. 30’s 17,522 cases. Compared to two Sundays ago, the figure fell by 12,771.

A hospital specializing in infectious diseases will be constructed on the former site of the U.S. Army’s corps of engineers in Jung District, central Seoul, health authorities announced Friday. The hospital, which is to serve as a command center in any future infectious disease health crises, will begin construction from 2024 to be completed in 2027.

The hospital will be equipped with more than 100 negative-pressure isolation beds and oversee the prevention and response to infectious diseases.

Donations from the estate of the late Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee will be invested in the hospital.

In addition, a fast-track procedure for diagnosis, treatment, and prescriptions for Covid-19 in one day will be implemented for high-risk groups within next month. The high-risk group includes people aged 60 and older, immune-compromised patients and residents at nursing hospitals.

“[The fast-track procedure] will enable high-risk groups to receive tests, treatment, prescriptions for oral treatment within one day, and if necessary, be admitted to a dedicated hospital without delay,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]