Japan Asks China To Stop Doing Anal Swabs On Japanese Visitors

by SharonKurheg

Y’know, when Joe and I started Your Mileage May Vary, I honestly didn’t think I would ever use the words “anal swab” in a travel blog post. And yet here, I am, writing about those very things for the 2nd time in 5 weeks. Thanks, coronavirus!

OK…so, if you didn’t read about our original “anal swab” post, you’re going to want to, so that this post makes more sense.

Click here to read it.

You done? OK, cool. So it seems the story has continued.

Not only has the anal swabbing continued on their own people, but apparently China is doing them on Japanese visitors in Beijing, as well. So the Japanese government called on China to stop using the invasive test on their citizens.

“Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they received anal swab tests, which caused a great psychological pain,” Katsunobu Kato, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said at a news conference.

Hold up! Wait, what?

“A great psychological pain.” Man, I love the way the Japanese word things sometimes. 😉

Anyway, although the use of anal swabs has not been confirmed to be in use anywhere else in the world, China still thinks they’re a good indicator for COVID. According to the BBC, the tests are apparently being used on some people who are quarantined or entering the country.

It’s not known how many Japanese visitors have been asked to drop trou for their COVID test.

Meanwhile (and I didn’t know about this when I originally wrote about the topic), when the story about the anal swabs first came to light, there were questions if U.S. diplomats had been required to go through the procedure. China’s foreign ministry said they were not.

As per Sky News, its spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a daily news briefing in Beijing that one of those tests might have been given by mistake but to his knowledge, “…China has never required US diplomatic staff stationed in China to conduct anal swab tests.”

A representative from the U.S. State Department responded by saying it was “committed to guaranteeing the safety and security of American diplomats and their families, while preserving their dignity.”

Indeed.

Meanwhile, Beijing has not yet responded to Mr. Kato’s request. Kato said Japan would continue to ask China to alter its way of testing.

So I guess that means he won’t turn the other cheek. (C’mon, you just KNEW I was going to add a joke like that in there at some point. Busted my butt to do it, though. Yeah, I’m a wise-ass like that.)

BTW, if I wasn’t in a hurry to go to China before (no real reason; I just wanted to go to other places more), I’m REALLY slowing my butt down now…

Feature Photo: Pixabay

Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.

#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands #wearamask

Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and get emailed notifications of when we post. Or maybe you’d like to join our Facebook group – we have 18,000+ members and we talk and ask questions about travel (including Disney parks), creative ways to earn frequent flyer miles and hotel points, how to save money on or for your trips, get access to travel articles you may not see otherwise, etc. Whether you’ve read our posts before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!

This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

6 comments

iv March 3, 2021 - 3:46 pm

If this isn’t a ‘”gross” violation, I don’t know what is! I just hope the Chinese government doesn’t start doing this in Hong Kong.

Reply
Hmmmm March 3, 2021 - 6:39 pm

It’s really China collecting DNA. Hmmm, can DNA provide data for them so they can continue developing another harmful virus? Conspiracy theorists want to know.

Reply
SharonKurheg March 3, 2021 - 6:52 pm

Conspiracy theorists really need to get hobbies.

Reply
jon March 3, 2021 - 9:25 pm

Something stinks about this and we need to get to the bottom of this situation regarding anal swabs !

Reply
Christian March 4, 2021 - 12:34 am

Wamp Wamp

Reply
DT March 4, 2021 - 5:53 pm

I thought only aliens did anal probes.

Reply

Leave a Comment