As of 11 p.m., Friday, July 24 (Japan time)

• The Tokyo metropolitan government reported on Friday 260 new daily coronavirus cases, down from the previous day's record figure but still at a high level, as the capital maintained its guard amid over 760 infections reported nationwide, including a record high in Osaka.
  
  
• Fireworks lit up the skies across Japan on Friday to mark one year to go until the start of the postponed Tokyo Olympics and lift the country's mood amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• An antinuclear group on Friday livestreamed a 30-minute English tour of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to reach out to people overseas as the coronavirus pandemic has sharply reduced the number of foreign visitors to the facility.
  
  
• American swimming superstar Katie Ledecky has been staying focused during the global coronavirus crisis and does not intend to let any minutes go to waste, as she says thinking about the Tokyo Olympics next year gives her "goosebumps."
  
  
• Japanese apparel companies hit by the new coronavirus pandemic have been tapping artificial intelligence technology to boost sagging sales, using it to predict the designs and colors that will come into trend.
  
  
• The number of people in extreme poverty across the world is expected to rise this year for the first time in 22 years due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations said in a recent report.

As of 10:20 p.m., Thursday, July 23 (Japan time)

• Japan reported on Thursday more than 980 new daily coronavirus infections, marking a record for a second straight day in a resurgence since the government lifted a state of emergency about two months ago.
  
  
• As Japanese couples return to tying the knot, a major Japanese wedding service provider has compiled guidelines to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
  
  
• Bamboo lanterns were lit up Thursday in disaster-hit northeastern Japan, with people praying for the outbreak of the novel coronavirus to be contained and recovery of communities struck by natural calamities.
  
  
• Singapore on Wednesday launched a campaign to get citizens to take local holidays in the hope of throwing a lifeline to the city-state's tourism industry that has been suffering from a lack of visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• Travelers in Japan were cautious Thursday as they set out on excursions on the first day of a four-day holiday, even amid persistent concerns over rising novel coronavirus infections in the country.

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - July 11-17

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

 

People walk along a shopping street in the Hakone hot spring resort in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan, on July 23, 2020. Japan's travel subsidy campaign began the previous day to help revive domestic tourism amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)