(Osaka)
List of shops to close in Tokyo this weekend (April 4-5)
As of 11 p.m., Friday, April 3 (Japan time)
- Tokyo residents will be asked to refrain from leaving their homes but essential services will remain in operation should Japan declare a state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus, Gov. Yuriko Koike said Friday.
- Citizens have stepped up criticism against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his plan to distribute two cloth face masks to each of the roughly 50 million households in Japan, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
- The Japanese government is considering offering the anti-influenza drug Avigan for free to countries looking to use it to treat new coronavirus patients, its top government spokesman said Friday.
- Tokyo confirmed 89 new coronavirus cases on Friday, a metropolitan government source said, as the city continues to struggle to contain the rapid spread of the COVID-19 disease.
- Nippon Professional Baseball and the pro soccer J-League on Friday abandoned plans to play in April, while declining to say when their coronavirus pandemic-affected seasons could resume.
- The Immigration Services Agency of Japan said Friday it will extend for three months the deadline for foreigners to renew their period of stay in a bid to alleviate congestion at immigration counters amid the coronavirus outbreak.
- Advocates for bar hostesses and sex workers have urged the government to reconsider its exclusion of them from compensation for parents unable to work because of school closures, noting they are among the most vulnerable members of society.
- The Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which was scheduled to open on May 10, will be postponed for two weeks due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the Japan Sumo Association decided Friday.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed Friday that the government will provide 300,000 yen ($2,800) in cash to each household suffering from falling incomes amid the spread of the new coronavirus.
- Toyota Motor Corp. on Friday suspended seven production lines at five plants in Japan due to a sharp drop in overseas demand caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, as other major Japanese auto and parts makers also find themselves forced to cut domestic manufacturing.
- China on Friday reported 91 new cases of coronavirus infection for the mainland, 31 with symptoms and 60 without, ahead of Saturday's national day of mourning for those who lost their lives to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
- Japanese local governments have been advised to help people with mild coronavirus symptoms recover at home or hotels, the health ministry said Friday.
- The Asian Development Bank expects economic growth in developing and newly industrialized economies of Asia and the Pacific in 2020 to slow sharply to 2.2% due to the impact of the new coronavirus.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea has surpassed 10,000, with 174 deaths linked to COVID-19, the government said Friday.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is considering banning the entry of foreign nationals from Japan as the Asian country continues to see a rise in coronavirus cases.
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The number of coronavirus infections worldwide surpassed 1 million on Thursday with the disease causing more than 51,000 deaths as the pandemic continues to rage, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed.
- Kit McConnell, the International Olympic Committee's sports director, said Thursday he anticipates the marathon and race walking events will remain in Sapporo next year for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, April 2 (Japan time)
- Sony Corp. said Thursday it has set up a $100 million fund to help the medical, education and entertainment sectors in and outside Japan fight the global spread of the new coronavirus.
- China on Thursday reported 35 new cases of symptomatic coronavirus infection for the mainland, all in people arriving at its border after contracting the virus.
- At least 97 new coronavirus infections were confirmed in Tokyo on Thursday, the biggest daily increase yet, a metropolitan government source said, as the capital struggles with a recent surge in the number of cases.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday new coronavirus infections have not reached the point across Japan to declare a state of emergency, but the country should remain vigilant against an explosive surge.
- Social media users have been getting creative recently in posting images of a legendary Japanese "yokai" monster said to have emerged from the sea and prophesied an epidemic, uploading them alongside messages wishing for a swift end to the coronavirus outbreak
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
(Manila)