Japan's government is considering allowing hotels to refuse entry to guests who do not wear masks and follow other measures to control infection during an outbreak, Fuji News Network said on Wednesday.
The government will submit a bill at an extraordinary session of parliament next month that would revise the law governing hotels and inns, allowing them more power to enforce infection measures, the network said.
The move would come at a time when Japan is expected to further ease its COVID-19 border controls, waiving visa requirements for certain tourists and removing a limit on daily arrivals. read more
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is scheduled to debate border easing measures on Thursday.
Japanese Prime Minister, who departed on Tuesday for the United Nations General Assembly Meeting, may announce the border easing during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Currently, the wearing of masks is not compulsory in Japan but is strongly recommended indoors and on public transport.
Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages on Saturday, whose emaciated appearance shocked Israelis following their release on live TV, in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the 15-month war in Gaza.
The US Coast Guard in Alaska found the wreckage of a small plane atop frozen sea ice on Friday, after the aircraft suddenly lost altitude on Thursday and the crash killed all 10 people on board, officials said.
A US judge has temporarily allowed roughly 2,700 US Agency for International Development employees put on leave by President Donald Trump's administration to go back to work, pausing aspects of a plan to dismantle the agency.
Hamas accused Israel of multiple breaches of their ceasefire agreement on Friday, a day before the scheduled exchange of three more Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in the latest stage in a fragile deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.