Japan bans entry of visitors from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and 8 other countries

Japan has expanded its entry ban to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and 8 other nations as part of efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday.

The move, which takes effect Wednesday and will remain in place "for the time being," means foreign nationals who have been to these areas within the last 14 days will be turned away upon arrival, reports the Kyodo News.

The other countries are Afghanistan, Argentina, El Salvador, Ghana, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa and Tajikistan.

The Foreign Ministry had raised its travel advisory for the 11 nations last week, urging against any trips to the areas.

With their addition, the number of countries and regions covered by Japan's entry ban climbs to 111, including the United States, most of Asia including China and South Korea, and all of Europe.

Speaking at a meeting of a government task force on the coronavirus response, Abe also said Japan will maintain other border control measures, including visa suspensions and a 14-day quarantine period for all arrivals including Japanese nationals, until the end of June.

The number of foreign travelers to Japan has plummeted since the measures were introduced, dealing a heavy blow to the world's third-largest economy.

Inbound figures were down 99.9 percent in April from a year earlier to just 2,900, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.