Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
(Narita, Japan)
As of 11 p.m., Friday, March 27 (Japan time)
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday he has tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing mild symptoms.
- World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said Friday the schedule of the next athletics world championships, slated for August 2021 in Oregon, will be determined flexibly in consideration of the postponement of this summer's Olympic Games for about a year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- As the coronavirus pandemic continues to test health care systems of some of the world's wealthiest nations, vulnerable Pacific island countries are closing their borders and preparing themselves for potential outbreaks in the region.
- The health ministry said Friday 92 passengers and crew members aboard a flight from Chicago to Narita airport near Tokyo were allowed to enter Japan without being asked to self-isolate for 14 days and refrain from using public transport.
- Japan's professional basketball league said Friday it will cancel the remainder of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Toyota Motor Corp. has asked two Japanese megabanks to set up a credit line totaling 1 trillion yen ($9.2 billion), company sources said Friday, a move that signals the carmaker is struggling with rising funding costs in the market due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he has agreed with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to join hands to tackle the new pneumonia-causing coronavirus.
- A man was arrested Friday on suspicion of obstructing business after he allegedly delayed a domestic flight in Japan a day earlier immediately before takeoff by telling cabin crew he was infected with the novel coronavirus.
- The United States has overtaken China to become the country with the world's largest number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, data by the Johns Hopkins University showed Thursday.
- Leaders from the Group of 20 economies said Thursday they are pumping $5 trillion into the world economy as part of their joint pledge to use all policy tools available to cushion the fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic.
- Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami became the first professional baseball player in Japan to test positive for the new coronavirus, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
- China on Thursday reported 67 new cases of coronavirus infection among people arriving from abroad, but no new instances of local transmission for the second day in a row, prompting the country's authorities to effectively ban the entry of all foreigners.
As of 11:00 p.m., Thursday, March 26 (Japan time)
- Japan will impose an entry ban on foreign travelers coming from 21 European countries and Iran as part of stronger measures to contain the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday.
- Japan's approach to social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic might seem to other nations around the world like it is very social, and not so distant
- Hundreds of Japanese nationals are currently stranded overseas due to travel restrictions meant to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
- The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is likely to delay the handover of converted condominiums at the athletes village, leaving the developers and future residents with many questions.
- The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics established a task force to deal with the postponement of the Summer Games due to the coronavirus pandemic and held its first meeting on Thursday.
- Athletes and sports organizations around the world have largely welcomed the decision by the Japanese government and International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo Games for around a year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
- More office workers in Tokyo shifted to teleworking while many people stocked up on daily necessities on Thursday after Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike requested the capital's residents to avoid nonessential outings in the wake of a spike in the number of new coronavirus infections.
(Shoppers buy food at a supermarket in Tokyo on March 26, 2020, a day after Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike asked citizens to refrain from going outside this weekend for nonessential reasons amid a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the capital.)
List of major facilities, events affected by coronavirus in Japan
Useful resources for foreign residents and visitors in Japan
- Japan National Tourism Organization's "Guide for when you are feeling ill"
- Multilingual clinic/hospital search available in English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese
https://www.jnto.go.jp/emergency/eng/mi_guide.html - JNTO's "Japan Visitor Hotline"
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001328767.pdf - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's hotline
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0570-550571
- Available via fax for those with hearing impairments
03-5388-1396 - Japan's health ministry hotline
- Available in Japanese only, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0120-565653 - World Health Organization's "Q&A on coronaviruses"
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses