A Virgin Mary statue at a Catholic church in Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, is seen with a face mask on May 10, 2020, amid the coronavirus outbreak. (Kyodo)
Japan and beyond: The Week in Pictures - May 16-22
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, May 26 (Japan time)
- The Japanese government is looking to revive the tourism industry, a key driver of the economy that has been battered by the novel coronavirus pandemic, by paying for people to go on vacation in the country.
- J-League first-division clubs in the Tokyo area began preparing for a return to competition Tuesday following the lifting of the nationwide state of emergency declared over the novel coronavirus.
- The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday countered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's claim that the new coronavirus originated from China, saying the issue should be studied "based on science and facts."
- Major companies such as Hitachi Ltd. and NEC Corp. said Tuesday they will continue to push work-from-home arrangements even though the state of emergency over the new coronavirus pandemic was called off the previous day.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government is set to remove restrictions on sports gyms in the second phase of its three-step plan to ease business suspension requests in the capital following the lifting of Japan's state of emergency over the novel coronavirus pandemic, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
- Some hotels and a university are offering free accommodation to foreigners who are stranded in Japan because their home countries have closed the borders due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
- People in Japan's service and distribution sectors which had been forced into closure or hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic have voiced mixed feelings as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a state of emergency over the virus in the country.
- An "izakaya" Japanese-style pub in Osaka has started distributing free face shields for use by its customers in the hope of regaining drinkers after the coronavirus state of emergency was lifted last week.
- Japan has given up on approving Fujifilm Holdings Corp's anti-influenza drug Avigan this month for the treatment of patients infected with the new coronavirus, health minister Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday.
- The head of the World Health Organization on Monday described the result of Japan's efforts in tackling the spread of the new coronavirus a "success."
As of 11:30 p.m., Monday, May 25 (Japan time)
- The end of Japan's state of emergency over the coronavirus crisis has sparked hopes among the country's citizens living in Beijing that their families and colleagues may be able to return to the Chinese capital in the not-so-distant future.
- Japan is expanding its entry ban to visitors from India and 10 other nations as part of border control steps to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday.
- Japan on Monday released a phased road map for reopening the economy as the government fully lifted the state of emergency the same day, with plans to relax by August restrictions imposed following the novel coronavirus outbreak.
- A mysterious two-headed bird depicted in a Japanese diary dating from more than a century ago has caught the attention of people yearning for an end to the novel coronavirus pandemic, with its image going viral online and inspiring merchandise from rice crackers to T-shirts.
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Monday that the state of emergency declared over the novel coronavirus crisis is over in Japan, ending curbs on economic activity in Tokyo and four other prefectures as experts judged the spread of infections is now under control.
Useful resources for foreign residents and visitors in Japan
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "Tokyo Coronavirus Support Center for Foreign Residents (TOCOS)" multilingual hotline
- Available in Simple Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Khmer, and Burmese, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays except national holidays.
0120-296-004 (toll free) - AMDA Medical Information Center's "Multilingual Consultation Service Regarding COVID-19"
(April 10~May 20, 2020)
- Available in English, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and national holidays. Also available in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Spanish, Vietnamese and Portuguese on designated weekdays. Check schedule here.
03-6233-9266
- Available in English and Chinese on weekdays only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
090-3359-8324 - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's COVID-19 info
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/flow/ - Tokyo Metropolitan Government 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 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 - 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
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (C) attends a meeting of the Japanese capital's coronavirus task force on May 25, 2020, at the metropolitan government building. A state of emergency was lifted in Tokyo the same day. (Kyodo)
