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Japan to let Olympic athletes in as early as March

With the Olympics opening ceremony just five months away, Japan is planing to lift the ban on foreign atheletes taking part in the summer games as soon as March, according to a report in the Nikkei Asia. Japan currently has a blanket ban on foreign arrivals. Exemptions are offered only for special cases such as family reunification, international conferences and medical reasons. The government will expand the exemptions to allow Olympic athletes, their coaches and other personnel. Arrivals via the Olympics exemption will not be permitted to use public transport, and