How long can Japan keep foreigners locked out?

A colleague has posted on the ‘Return to Japan’ Facebook page that his hotel quarantine at Tokyo’s Narita airport is set to be extended by ‘at least a week’. This is after testing positive with symptomless Covid on the point of his supposed release. He’s already spent six days locked up in a tiny room with nothing but cold bentos (lunch boxes) for food. He now faces at least another week staring at the wall, worrying about whether his job will still be open when he finally emerges.

In a sense my colleague is lucky. Thanks to his work visa, he will at least be allowed back into the country once he has established his non-Covid status. For many foreigners hoping to enter Japan, the borders remain firmly closed. In January, prime minster Fumio Kishida extended the entry ban on most non-resident foreigners until the end of February. Foreign students, businesspeople, and tourists, remain locked out.