People stand in front of an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, November. 29, 2021. Asian stock markets fell further Monday after the omicron variant of the coronavirus was found in more countries and governments imposed travel controls. Photo: AFP

Visa application services for Chinese students going to Japan have been suspended as Japan has banned foreign entry for 30 days, the Global Times has learned.

Japan has banned entries by new foreign arrivals from Tuesday amid new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in many countries across the world. The ban is scheduled to last for one month, NHK reported.

It came just 21 days after Japan announced on November 8 that it would lift entry restrictions on some foreign nationals, including business visitors on short-term visas, students, and technical interns. 

“Currently, the backlog of visa applications for Japan from Chinese students is not large,” an agent for overseas education based in Beijing told the Global Times on Thursday.

According to another Japanese overseas study consultant, nearly 370,000 people are waiting to enter the country due to COVID-19, and nearly 70 percent of them are overseas students.

Concerns over the spread of the Omicron strain have prompted Israel to ban entry of all foreigners. Other countries have also been imposing various levels of travel restrictions.

For example, Kyrgyzstan has blocked entry by foreigners from countries and regions affected by the Omicron variant.

Several Chinese airlines have suspended transfer routes from Africa owing to the Omicron variant. The World Health Organization declared Omicron a “variant of concern” in late November.