Japan on Saturday said it would temporarily ban non-resident foreign nationals from entering the country as it tightens its borders following the detection of a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus.
The ban will take effect from December 28 and will run through January, the government said in a statement.
Japanese citizens and foreign residents will be allowed to enter but must show proof of a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before departing for Japan and must quarantine for two weeks after arrival, the statement added.
Japan on Friday reported its first cases of a fast-spreading variant in passengers arriving from Britain. The new variant has also been detected in a man who visited the UK and a family member - the first cases of infected people found outside airport checks - Nippon TV reported on Saturday.
The new strain adds to worries about a surge in cases as Tokyo reported another record rise on Saturday.
Infections of the virus that causes COVID-19 hit a record 949 in the capital just as Japan heads into New Year holidays that normally see people stream from the capital into the provinces.
Serious cases were unchanged from a day earlier at 81.
With New Year celebrations centred around family gatherings and mass visits to temples and shrines, experts have warned public restraint will be essential to prevent infection rates from rising further amid concerns of pandemic fatigue.
An explosive-laden car rammed into a Pakistani military convoy on Saturday in a town near the Afghan border, killing at least 13 soldiers, sources said.
Radiation levels in the Gulf region remain normal after the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict severely damaged several nuclear facilities in Iran, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
The US Supreme Court on the last day of rulings for its current term gave Donald Trump his latest in a series of victories at the nation's top judicial body, one that may make it easier for him to implement contentious elements of his sweeping agenda as he tests the limits of presidential power.
Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Duda's office said, as Kyiv aims to build support among allies at a critical juncture in its grinding war with Russia.