As of 11 p.m., Thursday, July 2 (Japan time)

• When the J-League top flight resumes on Saturday, teams will play without the threat of relegation for the first time since the launch of the second division in 1999. With the season turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, the league has decided to suspend relegation to avoid further disadvantaging clubs who are already struggling.

• Japan plans to set up new coronavirus testing centers outside three major airports in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as in central parts of the cities, as the country prepares to relax its travel restrictions, a government official said Thursday.
  
  
• The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 107 new coronavirus infections in the capital on Thursday, an official said, registering the largest daily increase in two months.
  
  
• Eintracht Frankfurt veteran Makoto Hasebe, who holds the Bundesliga's record for appearances by an Asian player, said the privilege came with a responsibility he keenly felt when the German top flight resumed amid the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year.

As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, July 1 (Japan time)

• Japan Airlines Co. is planning to fully restart its domestic flights as early as October, officials said Wednesday, amid signs of a recovery in travel demand, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• Japan could begin talks with Taiwan and Brunei as early as this month on easing travel restrictions meant to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
  
  
• The number of applications for welfare payments in Japan in April jumped by 24.8 percent compared with the same period of last year due to worsening labor market conditions amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, government data showed Wednesday.
  
  
• The Tokyo metropolitan government on Wednesday reported 67 new coronavirus infections, the highest number of daily cases since a state of emergency for the capital was lifted more than a month ago, according to an official.
  
  
• The European Union on Wednesday lifted travel restrictions for visitors from 14 countries outside the bloc, including Japan and South Korea, after introducing the step in March in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
  
  
• Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea reopened Wednesday with social-distancing measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after closing for some four months over the pandemic.
  
  
• Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers in June plunged to the lowest level since June 2009 due to the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed Wednesday.

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - June 20 - 26 

Updates on major shops, facilities as economy reopens in Japan

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

Representatives of an association preserving the Yamahoko float processions, the main event of Kyoto's Gion Festival, attend the "Osendo no gi" ritual at Yasaka shrine on July 1, 2020, marking the start of the traditional festival. This year's Gion Festival will be downscaled with Yamahoko float processions and other events canceled to prevent coronavirus infections. (Kyodo)