"It is our sincere hope that Bangladesh will overcome the current crisis soon so that the two nations can further deepen the relations," said the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka on Friday.

Japan said it does not have any specific restriction for the return flight from Japan to other countries.

Non-Japanese nationals who have stayed or visited any of the 111 countries, including Bangladesh, within the last 14 days are not permitted to enter Japan unless there are special circumstances.

To that end, it said, Japan will continue to extend its support to Bangladesh.

In response to the media reports regarding a “ban” of flight from Dhaka to Japan, the Embassy in a statement clarified a number of points.

The Japanese authorities duly conduct quarantine measures at its airports of arrival, which include self-declaration of symptoms, monitoring of body temperature, and the PCR testing when deemed necessary (the testing is mandatory for passengers from 111 countries, as of 16th of June), it said.

The government of Japan also asks travelers from all over the world to stay at home, etc. and refrain from using public transportation for 14 days after their arrival, the statement reads.

However, Japan did not require the passengers on the chartered flight to show a certificate of the result of COVID-19 testing for their entry either before boarding.

The validity or accuracy of the “certificate” has never been an issue.

As of 25th of May, Japan added Bangladesh, together with 10 countries including India and Pakistan, to the list of countries subject to denial of entry into Japan (and the measures came into effect from JST 00:00 on 27th of May).

The decision reflects overall assessment on the COVID-19 situation in this region, said the statement.

It is true that four passengers, aboard on the chartered flight on 30th of April, have been found COVID-19 positive after their entry in Japan, but their source/place of infection has not been identified.