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.
Updates on major shops, facilities as economy reopens in Japan
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, June 4 (Japan time)
- Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that Japan's relatively low mortality rate from the new coronavirus reflects the higher "level of social manners" of Japanese people.
- China said Thursday that it will allow foreign air carriers to increase their flights to the country next week, depending on the number of passengers infected with the new pneumonia-causing coronavirus.
- A western Japan city initially excluded people with no bank account from the blanket cash handout program as part of the central government's coronavirus response on the assumption that most such citizens belong to organized crime groups
- New car sales of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. in China surged in May, the manufacturer said Thursday, underscoring its business in the country is on a recovery track with concern over the new coronavirus outbreak easing.
- Foreign residents of Japan who should be allowed back into the country on humanitarian grounds will be exempt from the country's entry ban, the Justice Ministry has said.
- Japan's prefectural governors on Thursday discussed joint proposals for how to revive the country's economy from the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic while preventing a second wave of infections at the same time.
- Japan is considering simplifying the format of next year's Tokyo Olympics following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, a government source said Thursday.
- The U.S. government said Wednesday it will block Chinese passenger airlines from flying into and from the United States starting June 16 in response to what it considers as China's unfair treatment of U.S. carriers during the coronavirus pandemic.
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