A plastic sheet separates two players to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection as they play a game of Go at the Japan Go Association headquarters in Tokyo on June 5, 2020. The competition venue reopened two days earlier following a three-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, June 6 (Japan time)
- Red tape and costly commission fees involved in applying for state subsidies have led some Japanese companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic to give up on seeking support to retain their employees.
- The government plans to supply more personal computers to overseas Japanese schools so their students can continue to study online at home as the coronavirus epidemic shows no sign of abating globally.
- The U.S. government said Friday it will allow Chinese air carriers to operate two weekly passenger flights to and from the United States, after China eased its restrictions on U.S. flight services amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Updates on major shops, facilities as economy reopens in Japan
As of 11 p.m., Friday, June 5 (Japan time)
- As Japan is considering ways to safely ease travel restrictions over the new coronavirus, travelers to and from the country will be required to undergo testing for COVID-19 and submit a trip itinerary, government sources said Friday.
- An executive board member of the Tokyo Games organizing committee said Friday a decision on whether to go ahead with the postponed Summer Olympics and Paralympics should be made no earlier than next spring.
- A Filipino man has been arrested for allegedly taking a free ride on a bullet train halfway across the country in hopes of getting the government's 100,000 yen ($920) coronavirus cash handout, police said Friday.
- This summer's Fuji Rock Festival, a major annual event in Japan's music calendar, has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, its organizer said Friday.
- Organizers of the 2020 Olympics and the Tokyo metropolitan government are moving away from holding celebrations this summer to mark one year before the delayed Olympics open, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - May 30-June 5
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
Workers disinfect the interior of a Peach Aviation airplane at Kansai airport in Osaka Prefecture on June 5, 2020. The low cost carrier plans to resume operations of all of its 22 domestic flight routes by June 19 after many flights were canceled due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. (Kyodo)
