As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, April 28
- Japan said Wednesday it will tighten border controls on travelers from the four U.S. states of Tennessee, Florida, Michigan and Minnesota, as well as India and Peru in response to the spread of new variants of the coronavirus detected there.
- Japan plans to introduce "vaccine passports" to make it easier for people who have been inoculated against COVID-19 to travel internationally, government sources said Wednesday.
- The Japanese government on Wednesday endorsed a policy to test all athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics for the novel coronavirus on a daily basis in principle.
- The governors of Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures urged residents Wednesday to refrain from traveling to, from and within the metropolitan area a day before the start of the country's Golden Week holidays amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
- India reported Wednesday that over 200,000 people have died after being infected with the coronavirus, as the South Asian nation of over 1.3 billion people grapples with a new wave of infections.
- Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its global sales surged 44.2 percent in March from a year ago to a record 982,912 units, buoyed by strength in key U.S. and Chinese markets and showing a sharp rebound from the initial fallout from the pandemic.
- The Asian Development Bank said Wednesday that economic growth in developing and newly industrialized Asian economies will rebound to 7.3 percent in 2021 despite the continued shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
- U.S. health authorities said Tuesday that people who have been fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus no longer need to wear masks outdoors, as long as they are away from big crowds.
- Japan, Australia and India launched on Tuesday a new framework to mutually strengthen their supply chains of cars, medical equipment and other products amid the coronavirus pandemic, in a veiled attempt at relying less on key regional trade partner China.
- The Japanese organizers of the Tokyo Olympics have decided to require officials from overseas to be tested for the novel coronavirus daily if they will come into close contact with athletes, sources familiar with the plan said Tuesday.
- The J-League will seek compensation from the Japanese government for losses resulting from the ongoing coronavirus state of emergency, during which several stadiums will be closed to fans, chairman Mitsuru Murai said Tuesday.
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, April 27
- A health ministry panel may decide as early as May 20 whether to approve Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine for use in Japan, government sources said Tuesday, possibly paving the way for a second type of shot to be available in the country after the one developed by Pfizer Inc.
- Japan will provide 4.2 billion yen ($39 million) in grant aid through an international organization to 31 countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to help them build a cold-chain distribution network for COVID-19 vaccines, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
- Japan's largest mask maker Unicharm Corp. launched on Tuesday see-through face masks created particularly to enable better communication with deaf people during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The inflow of people into Tokyo exceeded the outflow by only 7,537 in fiscal 2020, compared with 83,455 in the previous year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday instructed Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to set up a large-scale vaccination center in Tokyo to deliver COVID-19 shots to the elderly faster.
- The Bank of Japan projected Tuesday its 2 percent inflation target will not be attainable in 2023 when Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's current term ends, underscoring the daunting challenge he continues to face despite a decade of aggressive monetary easing.
- Japan will remain a destination to which U.S. citizens should "reconsider travel," the U.S. State Department said Monday based on its latest travel advisory assessment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The United States will share with other countries its stock of up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine as they become available over the next few months, the White House said Monday.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - April 17~23