Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Friday, Sept. 11 (Japan time)
- Japan's tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Friday the government will include Tokyo in its domestic travel subsidy program from Oct. 1, after having excluded the capital from the campaign since its start in July amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
- Japan's tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Friday the government will include Tokyo in its domestic travel subsidy program from Oct. 1, after having excluded the capital from the campaign since its start in July amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
- Japan will resume short-term business travel with Singapore from Sept. 18, marking the first time that Tokyo has decided to allow the entry of businesspeople without requiring a 14-day self-isolation period amid the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday.
- A taxi company in Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture, is bringing a livestreamed experience of dining at noodle shops to udon lovers as they stay home during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
- With it very likely the world will still be battling the novel coronavirus next summer, one expert is concerned about how protective masks might exacerbate the impact of extreme heat expected during the Tokyo Olympics.
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 (Japan time)
- U.S. State Secretary Michael Pompeo promised Thursday that Washington will team up with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to bring about recovery of their economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government is set to lower its coronavirus alert by one notch from the highest of four levels as the number of infections has been on a downward trend in recent days, officials said Thursday.
- A new sea terminal in Tokyo which can accommodate the world's largest cruise ships opened its doors Thursday after the novel coronavirus pandemic postponed its launch originally scheduled for July.
- The Japan Sumo Association said Thursday that 18 wrestlers from the Tamanoi stable tested positive for the novel coronavirus, resulting in the entire stable sitting out the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament starting this weekend.
- U.S. President Donald Trump had been aware in early February of how deadly and contagious the novel coronavirus was, but played down the threat in public, audio recordings of interviews for a new book obtained by U.S. media showed Wednesday.
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he will ease restrictions to allow indoor dining in New York City with a limit of 25 percent capacity beginning Sept. 30, as the spread of the novel coronavirus has been controlled in recent months.
- Indonesia's capital Jakarta will reinstate large-scale social restrictions beginning Monday due to a resurgence in novel coronavirus infections, its governor said Wednesday.
- The International Olympic Committee is set to hold "important discussions" on coronavirus countermeasures in the coming weeks, but it is still too early to say what steps will be taken at the postponed Tokyo Games, IOC President Thomas Bach said Wednesday.
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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"
- Available in Simple Japanese and English, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Also available in Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese on designated weekdays. Check schedule here.
03-6233-9266 - 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