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.
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, March 4
- Up to 10,000 spectators will be admitted for games at this month's prestigious spring invitational high school baseball tournament, organizers announced Thursday.
- Over 230 cases of highly infectious variant strains of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in 19 of the 47 prefectures in Japan, government data showed Thursday, with health experts warning of a potential "fourth wave" of infections should they continue to spread across the country.
- The number of domestic violence consultations in Japan reached a record 82,643 in 2020, the highest since a law against spousal violence took effect in 2001, police data showed Thursday, as people spent more time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- With more people teleworking in Japan amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, some are demanding action to ensure employees can refuse phone calls and emails on their days off to clarify the blurred boundaries between personal and professional life.
- With less than five months until the start of the Tokyo Olympics, Japan still faces many unanswered questions about how to hold the world's biggest sporting event amid the coronavirus pandemic, one major concern being whether spectators will be admitted.
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