As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, March 30
- Japan's health minister apologized Tuesday over a late-night party involving 23 officials of his ministry held last week in Tokyo despite the metropolitan government's request for shorter business hours to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
- A joint study conducted by the World Health Organization and China on the origins of the novel coronavirus concluded that it is "extremely unlikely" that it escaped from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a copy of its report obtained by Kyodo News showed Monday.
- Coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. reduced the risk of infection by 90 percent at least two weeks after full vaccination, according to a study by the U.S. health protection agency released Monday.
- A group of Japanese health ministry officials partied at a restaurant in Tokyo until around midnight while the metropolitan government's request was in place for eateries to shorten business hours to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a ministry official revealed Monday.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, March 29
- Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Monday he plans to request the central government to designate the western Japan prefecture as an area requiring stronger anti-virus measures based on a law, saying it has already entered the "fourth wave" of infections.
- Sophia University in Tokyo held Monday the first of a series of belated entrance ceremonies for last year's freshers who are now about to enter their second year after the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancelation of the original event last spring.
- All Nippon Airways Co. on Monday conducted Japan's first trial of the "CommonPass" app indicating a traveler's COVID-19 status at Tokyo's Haneda airport as part of efforts by the global travel industry to make cross-border travel easier and safer.
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