Photo taken on July 29, 2020, shows a commercial street in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Iwate, which had been the last prefecture to report no coronavirus infections, confirmed its first two cases earlier in the day. (Kyodo)

 

As of 11 p.m., Thursday, July 30 (Japan time)

• A Japanese consortium said Thursday it will open an aquarium in Taiwan, its first outside Japan, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across much of the world
  
  
• Japan marked on Thursday a second day of record infections of the novel coronavirus at 1,304 fresh cases nationwide, with Tokyo and other urban areas also reporting record numbers.
  
  
• North Korea's most influential newspaper again claimed Thursday that nobody has been infected with the new coronavirus so far in the country, saying measures will be stepped up to prevent the pandemic from spreading there.
  
  
   
• Japan is on course to set a record for the fewest criminal cases in a postwar year, a tally of the first six months of 2020 released Thursday showed, as the coronavirus pandemic has apparently reduced the amount of street crime in the country.
  
  
• India said Wednesday its confirmed coronavirus cases have exceeded 1.5 million, with over half a million cases added in the past 12 days.
  
  
• The Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia, one of Asia's largest film festivals held annually in Tokyo, will take place from Sept. 16 to 27 after being postponed for three months due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, its organizer said Wednesday.

As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, July 29 (Japan time)

• Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday that containing the spread of the new coronavirus in the Japanese capital is the very first step toward the successful hosting of the postponed Olympics and Paralympics next summer.
  
  
• Japan's badminton governing body announced the cancellation Wednesday of the 2020 Japan Open because of difficulties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

• The foreign ministers of Japan and China on Wednesday agreed to speed up arrangements toward resuming travel between the two countries that has stalled due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
  
  
• The number of fresh cases of novel coronavirus confirmed Wednesday in Japan topped 1,000 for the first time as a resurgence of infections has begun to expand beyond Tokyo.
  
  
• The Chinese government said Wednesday that 101 infections with the new coronavirus have been newly confirmed in the mainland, the highest since April 12.
  
  
• International rating agency Fitch Ratings Inc. has revised down its outlook for Japan's credit rating from stable to negative, citing a sharp economic contraction triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

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

Nagoya TV Tower and the Oasis 21 park (foreground) in Aichi Prefecture are lit up in orange on July 29, 2020, warning of the spread of the new coronavirus. The central Japan prefecture confirmed 167 new cases of the virus earlier in the day, posting a single-day record for the second straight day. (Kyodo)