As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, March 3
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday he is considering extending the COVID-19 state of emergency covering the Tokyo metropolitan region by about two weeks as the situation has not improved sufficiently to end it on the weekend as scheduled.
- Governors in the Tokyo metropolitan area are considering asking Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency by about two weeks as the decline in new infections has slowed, sources with knowledge of the plan said Wednesday.
- The United States is on track to secure enough vaccine supply for every adult in the country by the end of May, two months earlier than expected, President Joe Biden said Tuesday.
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, March 2
- Japan said Tuesday it will strengthen border controls to keep new coronavirus variants at bay by requiring its citizens and resident foreigners returning from 13 other countries including Austria and Italy to go through additional quarantine measures.
- A woman who received Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine has died, but so far there has been no link found between her death and the inoculation, the health ministry said Tuesday.
- U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc. and Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. will file an application, possibly on Friday, with the health ministry for approval of its coronavirus vaccine, sources knowledgeable of the matter said Tuesday.
- Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike expressed caution Tuesday about lifting the state of emergency in the metropolitan region this weekend, despite novel coronavirus infections trending downward since it was declared in early January.
- Japan's job availability increased and the unemployment rate fell in January, government data showed Tuesday, indicating the immediate impact of the country's second pandemic-related state of emergency was limited.
- The government said Tuesday it will hold a memorial service next week to mark the 10th anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan but that it will be scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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