As of 11 p.m., Saturday, March 6
- The number of people moving through some major train stations and other locations in Tokyo and adjacent areas rose Saturday from a week earlier, despite the government extending the coronavirus state of emergency in the capital and neighboring Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures for an additional two weeks.
- The Dalai Lama received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile headquartered there.
As of 11 p.m., Friday, March 5
- The organizers of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will most likely not allow overseas spectators to attend the games due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials with knowledge of the matter said Friday.
- The Japanese government extended the COVID-19 state of emergency covering the Tokyo metropolitan area by two weeks on Friday, having decided the situation has not improved enough to end it this weekend as planned.
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Friday it has filed a request for approval from Japan's health ministry to distribute U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
- Cambodia, host of the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting scheduled for early June, has postponed the political forum's biennial summit until later this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
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)
https://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/chiiki_tabunka/tabunka/tabunkasuishin/0000001452.html - 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/ - Tokyo Metropolitan Government hotline
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/contacts
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (including weekends and holidays)
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"
https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/hotline/
- Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas) - 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