Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak
As of 10:00p.m., Tuesday, May 5 (Japan time)
- With the coronavirus pandemic bringing sports leagues around the world to a standstill, workers who make their living assisting athletes are being hit particularly hard
- The Tokyo metropolitan government will pay more financial aid to businesses in the capital that remain closed after Wednesday in line with its suspension request as part of efforts to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus.
- A group of 130 Filipino and other crew members left a cruise ship docked in southwestern Japan for their countries on Tuesday, after they tested negative for coronavirus, Nagasaki's prefectural government said.
- Delivering its own "stay-at-home" message to contain the spread of COVID-19, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan is asking onsen lovers to go virtual to take a breather and relax -- in their own bathtubs.
- A strip theater in the famous Dogo hot spring resort in western Japan has been forced to look to crowdfunding to ensure it can survive the coronavirus spread with tourists and longtime customers staying away.
- The South Korean government said Monday it will ease social restrictions and shift to "everyday life quarantine" on Wednesday, calling on the public to cooperate in its new campaign against the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which was scheduled to open later this month, will be canceled due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the sport's governing body said Monday.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended Monday the nationwide state of emergency until the end of May to reduce new coronavirus infections amid nascent signs of the epidemic leveling off.
- As Japan prepares for at least another month under a state of emergency, its large elderly population faces a double fight -- not just avoiding infection with the new coronavirus but also making sure the very measures taken to protect them don't cause their health to deteriorate.
- Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka swapped their rackets for Nintendo Switch controllers and met on court in the Mario Tennis Aces video game on Sunday during the "Stay at Home Slam," a virtual charity tournament featuring eight star players and their celebrity doubles partners.
- Singapore will allow companies to resume business operations gradually from May 12 while maintaining a partial lockdown until June 1 to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
- A number of Japanese groups offering humanitarian assistance abroad have recently been forced to evacuate staff due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, casting a shadow over their support for refugees and poverty-stricken regions.
- Rural Japan has largely avoided the worst of the novel coronavirus and is going to great lengths to keep it that way during the Golden Week holiday period.
List of shops closed in Tokyo following emergency declaration
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'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 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