Singapore and Japan Announce September 18 Business Travel Reopening

Sep. 11--Bangkok (dpa)- Limited travel will be possible between Japan and Singapore from September 18, the two governments announced on Friday. 

According to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the deal will "facilitate essential business and official travel for residents from both countries," which are Asia's second-biggest economy and its wealthiest per capita.

The ministry said travellers will have be tested for the novel coronavirus before and after flying and will have to "adhere to a controlled itinerary for the first 14 days in the receiving country."

Travel came to a standstill in March with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the imposition of worldwide travel restrictions.

A wealthy city-state of around 5.8 million people, Singapore's travel sector has been hit hard by the slump, with two of the five terminals at its international airport shuttered and the national airline cutting over 4,000 jobs.

The arrangement is the "first such framework that Japan will implement with another country," Singapore's foreign ministry said, and is the fifth deal negotiated by Singapore since a two-month lockdown ended in June.

Singapore has "fast lanes" or "travel bubbles" in place with Brunei, China, New Zealand and South Korea -- and is discussing similar arrangements with Indonesia and Thailand.

Japan, the third-biggest source of foreign investment in Singapore, is lining up similar reopenings with 16 countries, including Australia, China and South Korea, according to its foreign ministry.

Singapore has had over 57,000 reported cases of the coronavirus but only 27 related deaths. Japan has officially confirmed almost 74,000 cases, with 1,418 people dying after a positive coronavirus test.

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