In response to China easing travel restrictions on Jan. 8th, Japan ramped up its COVID-19 border controls for those arriving from mainland China, requiring visitors to submit certificates of negative test results for the coronavirus within 72 hours of departure.

South African Mansoor Mohamed, who lives in China, said "It is relatively easy and cheap to do a Covid test in China, so it will not affect my travel planning," he said.

"However, I know that many patriotic Chinese colleagues and friends will avoid those countries for now because the practice of only testing passengers arriving from China is discriminatory," he said.

China retaliated on Jan. 11th, suspending visas for visitors from Japan.

Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, expressed disappointment at the decision. "It is extremely regrettable that China has unilaterally implemented restrictions that seem to have nothing to do with countermeasures against the novel coronavirus," Kishida told reporters while visiting Britain.