Close
KTAR.com
News
Shows
Blogs
KTAR News on 92.3FM

Small Japan border easing stirs hope, worry for foreigners

This photo provided by Stefano Piras shows himself at a Japanese restaurant in London in 2020. The 30-year-old Piras, met his fiancee in the fall of 2019 when he was a chef at a Japanese restaurant in London and they decided to get married after spending time together and long distance. He quit his job in London and returned to Italy in July 2020 to move to Japan where she is based, but he has been virtually locked out under Japan's border controls. (Stefano Piras via AP) This screenshot from Stefano Piras' Twitter account that was posted on Feb. 13, 2022, shows that he holds a message which read "Stefano Italy 1 year 7 months, I want to get married to my fiancee in Japan and start a new life". The 30-year-old Piras, met his fiancee in the fall of 2019 when he was a chef at a Japanese restaurant in London and they decided to get married after spending time together and long distance. He quit his job in London and returned to Italy in July 2020 to move to Japan where she is based, but he has been virtually locked out under Japan's border controls. (Stefano Piras/Twitter via AP) In this image made from video, Stefano Piras from Italy speaks during an online interview on Feb. 19, 2022, in Sardinia, Italy. The 30-year-old Piras, met his fiancee in the fall of 2019 when he was a chef at a Japanese restaurant in London and they decided to get married after spending time together and long distance. He quit his job in London and returned to Italy in July 2020 to move to Japan where she is based, but he has been virtually locked out under Japan's border controls. (AP Photo) This photo provided by Jommy Kwok shows herself, right, wearing Japan's traditional kimono dress, with her friend in Nikko, Japan, in May 2016. Kwok, whose first year of post-graduate study at Hokkaido University is almost over by only taking classes remotely from her Hong Kong home, says she hopes to arrive in Japan before her second year begins in April as she wants to take classes and do research that she wasn't able to do remotely. (Jommy Kwok via AP) This photo provided by Jommy Kwok shows herself in Sapporo of the Hokkaido region, Japan, in April 2018. Kwok, whose first year of post-graduate study at Hokkaido University is almost over by only taking classes remotely from her Hong Kong home, says she hopes to arrive in Japan before her second year begins in April as she wants to take classes and do research that she wasn't able to do remotely. (Jommy Kwok via AP) This screenshot from Jommy Kwok's Twitter account posted on Feb. 13, 2022, shows herself with messages which read “Hokudai (Hokkaido University) student who cannot go to Japan", “Have been waiting for 318 days". Kwok, whose first year of post-graduate study at Hokkaido University is almost over by only taking classes remotely from her Hong Kong home, says she hopes to arrive in Japan before her second year begins in April as she wants to take classes and do research that she wasn't able to do remotely. (Jommy Kwok/Twitter via AP) In this image made from video, Jommy Kwok of Hong Kong, speaks during an online interview on Feb. 22, 2022. Kwok, whose first year of post-graduate study at Hokkaido University is almost over by only taking classes remotely from her Hong Kong home, says she hopes to arrive in Japan before her second year begins in April as she wants to take classes and do research that she wasn't able to do remotely. (AP Photo) FILE - Passengers sit and wait for their turns during their coronavirus precaution quarantine process after landed at the Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo on Dec. 2, 2021. Japan will ease its much criticized coronavirus border controls, but the new policy only allows 5,000 new entrants per day, up from 3,500, including Japanese nationals, beginning March 1. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File) FILE - Passengers wait in line before moving onto their temporary housing for quarantine as they come out of an arrival gate for international flights at the Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, on Dec. 2, 2021. Japan will ease its much criticized coronavirus border controls, but the new policy only allows 5,000 new entrants per day, up from 3,500, including Japanese nationals, beginning March 1. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)