Japan is one of the few countries that have been extremely successful in curving new COVID-19 cases in the last few months. Despite a large amount of international traffic for the Tokyo Olympic Games in the summer of 2021, there were only 100-200 cases per day in November 2021 (see https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/japan-covid-cases.html).
However, Japan’s extreme prevention measures, especially at its national border, come with an economic and human cost. Many individual who live across national borders (such as international students) are suffering disproportionally.
