As of 11 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23 (Japan time)
- Japan Airlines Co. began offering discounted coronavirus tests to travelers Friday after teaming up with a medical institution in Tokyo, in a bid to ease concerns about infections and encourage customers to travel amid the pandemic.
- The Japanese government will ask companies to extend the upcoming New Year holiday by about one week in a bid to mitigate crowding by people visiting relatives or going on vacation and lower the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus, a Cabinet member said Friday.
- India on Thursday relaxed visa restrictions to allow foreign nationals to enter India by air or sea for any purpose except tourism.
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 22 (Japan time)
- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said athletes would not be barred from next year's Tokyo Olympics regardless of the situation of novel coronavirus infections in their homeland, German news agency DPA reported Thursday.
- Halloween in Japan is expected to be celebrated in new ways this year, at socially distanced events or online with revelers upping their facial decorations, as attempts are being made to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
- A coronavirus testing center will open next month at Narita airport near Tokyo, enabling departing travelers to obtain a certificate for a negative test result within two hours, the operators said Thursday.
- Fujifilm Holdings Corp. said Thursday it has partnered with Shanghai-based Carelink Pharmaceutical Co. to exclusively market its anti-viral drug Avigan for COVID-19 treatment in China.
- Japan is considering exempting businesspeople entering Japan on a 72-hour or less short stay from the country's quarantine period requirement provided they follow certain COVID-19 precautions, government sources said Thursday.
- Japan plans to use facial recognition technology, originally intended for security purposes, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus when it hosts the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics next year, government sources said Wednesday.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - October 10~16
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