As of 11 p.m., Friday, April 23
- Japan's fresh state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic threatens to nip hopes for an economic recovery in the bud by further weakening consumption, economists warned.
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency Friday in Tokyo and the western Japan prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo in an effort to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases during the upcoming Golden Week holidays.
- The International Olympic Committee and four other organizers of this summer's Tokyo Games plan to hold a high-level meeting next week to discuss domestic spectators, the chief of the Japanese organizing body said Friday.
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, April 22
- The Japanese government is considering placing Tokyo and three western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo under a state of emergency from Sunday to May 11, covering the country's upcoming string of holidays, in an attempt to curb surging COVID-19 infections, a senior official said Thursday.
- Japan's richest people accumulated more wealth over the past year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with their collective wealth jumping nearly 50 percent, Forbes Asia reported Thursday.
- A police officer who engaged in traffic control duties during the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in western Japan last week has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, organizers said Thursday, the first such case confirmed among those involved in the event.
- The Tokyo Motor Show scheduled for this fall will be canceled due to a resurgence of coronavirus infections, Akio Toyoda, chairman of its organizer the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said Thursday.
- India reported Thursday that its tally of new daily coronavirus cases has topped 300,000 for the first time, as the South Asian nation of over 1.3 billion people grapples with a new wave of infections and a shortage of hospital beds.
- International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach on Wednesday expressed support for the Japanese government's plan to impose a fresh coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo but said the decision is unrelated to the approaching games.
- The organizing committee of this summer's Tokyo Olympics may not make a final decision until as late as June on how many spectators will be allowed to enter games venues, its president suggested Wednesday, as Japan has been struggling with a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - April 17~23