WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department on Monday issued an advisory recommending its citizens not visit Japan due to the coronavirus pandemic, raising its travel alert to the highest level of 4 just two months before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.
The increase by one level came as Japan grapples with another wave of infections, with sources saying the government is considering extending the coronavirus state of emergency covering Tokyo, Osaka and other areas beyond the current expiration date of May 31.
The State Department said its latest assessment reflected the travel health notice by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sees Japan facing a "very high level of COVID-19," the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
"Because of the current situation in Japan, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan," the CDC said.
The department did not mention in its advisory the Summer Olympics, scheduled to be staged from July 23 to Aug. 8, but the heightened alert level could affect U.S. decision-making on whether to send its athletes to the games. Japan has already decided not to allow overseas spectators and volunteers to enter the country for the games.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's "efforts to hold a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer" when the two met in mid-April, according to a joint statement released after their talks.
The Japanese government has been emphasizing that the games can still be held safely, saying it will ensure proper anti-virus measures are in place for athletes and staff to participate.
John Coates, an International Olympic Committee vice president, said Friday the Tokyo Olympics can be held as planned even if the Japanese capital is under a state of emergency.
In March last year, the State Department issued an advisory for Americans to avoid all international travel amid the worldwide outbreak of the virus.
The global advisory was lifted in August, and the country-specific guidance for travel to Japan had since remained at level 3, under which U.S. citizens are urged to "reconsider travel" to the destination.
Around 150 countries are currently subject to the department's level 4 warning.
The department has said it regularly assesses and updates the travel advisories, based primarily on the CDC's travel health notices and other factors such as commercial flight availability and restrictions on the entry of U.S. citizens.
The CDC issues a level 4 notice when the coronavirus incidence rate -- defined as cumulative new cases over the past 28 days per 100,000 population -- hits more than 100.
Japan met the level 4 criteria on Friday and its current incidence rate is 120 cases per 100,000, an official of the U.S. health protection agency said.
In Japan, more than 722,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with around 12,350 deaths have been reported, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States remains the country to have suffered the most during the pandemic, with the number of infections totaling more than 33 million and deaths exceeding 590,000. But its situation has been improving amid a massive vaccine rollout.