Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Children play on the swings at a park on Tokyo on May 26, 2020, after playground equipment that had been off limits due to the coronavirus outbreak reopened. (Kyodo)
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, May 27 (Japan time)
- The University of Miyazaki and a Japanese firm said Wednesday their joint experiment has shown that a deep ultraviolet LED developed by the firm is effective in weakening the novel coronavirus, reducing its infection capacity by more than 99.9 percent
- The new coronavirus outbreak is projected to cut spending by overseas travelers to Japan between February and August by 2.36 trillion yen ($22 billion), a think tank said Wednesday, with figures only expected to return to pre-virus levels next spring.
- About 140 people, who had temporarily stayed in Japan in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak, on Wednesday returned on a charter plane to China's Wuhan, the original epicenter of the epidemic, a source close to the matter said.
- Vissel Kobe defender Gotoku Sakai expressed appreciation Wednesday for the health care workers who helped him make a full recovery after he became infected with the coronavirus
- A Liberal Democratic Party working group plans to recommend the government drop proposals to move the start of the 2021 academic year from April to September, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
- As Japan continues to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic, Crown Prince Fumihito and his family made 300 medical gowns by hand earlier this month and donated them for use by health care workers.
- The J-League is planning to play its first matches following a roughly four-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic on either June 27 or July 4, league sources said Tuesday.
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."
- 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.
- 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.
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
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge being lit up after a coronavirus state of emergency was lifted in the Japanese capital on May 25, 2020. (Kyodo)
