As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 26
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with South Korean President Moon Jae In on Thursday with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic high on the agenda of his first visit to the neighboring country in nearly a year.
- Tokyo's number of new daily coronavirus infections remained high Thursday, with 481 cases reported and the number of seriously ill hitting its highest level since a state of emergency declared over the pandemic was lifted in late May.
- Athletes and staff at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be asked to follow rules such as wearing masks at all times and practicing social distancing to prevent infection with the novel coronavirus during the events, sources familiar with the matter said.
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 25
- Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday the metropolitan government will request once again that restaurants serving alcohol shorten their operating hours for about three weeks starting this weekend in response to a recent resurgence in coronavirus infections.
- Japan's new ambassador to China, Hideo Tarumi, will be quarantined for two weeks in his residence in Beijing as ordered by the Chinese government, Japanese Embassy officials said Wednesday.
- Chinese authorities warned doctors, who responded to the novel coronavirus in the early stage of the outbreak in Wuhan, that they could be punished for espionage if they revealed what went on during the period, local sources said Wednesday.
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday defended his government's decision to continue its economy-boosting travel subsidy campaign, repeating his claim that there is no evidence it caused the nation's recent coronavirus resurgence.
- The Dow on Tuesday topped the 30,000 threshold for the first time as investors grew optimistic about the economic outlook following the start of the transition of power from U.S. President Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden and amid reports of progress toward COVID-19 vaccines.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - November 14 ~ 20
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