Japan lifts SARS travel warnings on 9 areas in China

Asian Economic News, June 16, 2003

TOKYO, June 14 Kyodo

The Japanese Foreign Ministry lifted SARS-related travel advisories Saturday on nine areas in China, the ministry said.

The move followed an announcement Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO) to lift its SARS travel alert for four of the areas and remove the other five from its list of areas with recent local transmission.

The Foreign Ministry lifted its advisory on nonessential travel postponement on Tianjin, the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, and Hebei and Shanxi provinces. Guangdong, Hubei, Jilin, Jiangsu and Shaanxi provinces were removed from the list of travel caution list.

The move leaves only Taiwan and Beijing under the ministry's travel advisory urging Japanese to postpone all nonessential trips.

Caution in traveling, the lowest warning in the four-grade system, remains in effect for Hong Kong and Toronto.