Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Two women walk without face masks in a commercial district in New Delhi on Sept. 4, 2020. India has overtaken Brazil in terms of total confirmed coronavirus cases, becoming the world's second worst-affected country after the United States. (Kyodo)
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8 (Japan time)
- Hong Kong will further relax social distancing measures, including reopening theme parks and allowing exhibitions and conventions, should the coronavirus situation continue to stabilize, the city's health secretary said Tuesday while announcing relaxation of rules by the end of the week.
- Japan's domestic travel subsidy program, launched in July to help revive tourism within the country hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, will cover half of travelers' costs from October, up from the current 35 percent, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Tuesday.
- Japan's professional baseball and football leagues submitted a joint request to the government on Tuesday asking to ease the 5,000-spectator cap at games amid signs that coronavirus infections are decreasing nationwide.
- Japan's Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto said Tuesday she believes the postponed Tokyo Games should be held next year "at any cost" in consideration of the preparations being made by athletes and others involved with the tournament.
- Japan plans to relax a rule limiting the size of crowds at professional sports, concerts and other events later this month amid signs that coronavirus cases are decreasing nationwide, government sources have said.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, Sept. 7 (Japan time)
- India overtook Brazil in total confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday to become the world's second worst-affected country after the United States.
- The World Bank's goal to reduce the global extreme poverty rate to 3 percent by 2030 is encountering greater difficulty due to the severe blow dealt to developing economies by the coronavirus pandemic, a vice president of the Washington-based lender said in a recent interview.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - August 29~September 4
Fireworks are set off in the Akita Prefecture city of Daisen, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 29, 2020, with the hope of an early end to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)
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
