As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, April 13
- India's health ministry said Tuesday it has approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use against the coronavirus, making it one of only three COVID-19 vaccines registered by the country's regulatory authorities.
- Daily coronavirus cases in Osaka Prefecture reached 1,099 on Tuesday, topping 1,000 for the first time, as the western Japan prefecture and other urban areas have imposed stronger steps to fight a resurgence of infections.
- Japan's powerful business lobby Keidanren said Tuesday it is lifting the ban it introduced on the use of hand dryers in restrooms in offices and production sites, after concluding the risk of spreading the coronavirus from their use is negligible.
- Japan's COVID-19 vaccine minister on Tuesday warned local governments against letting doses go to waste as the country expands its inoculation campaign to the elderly.
- Torchbearers for this summer's Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday ran through an empty park in Osaka after the flame relay in the western Japan prefecture was re-routed from public roads due to a sharp rebound in coronavirus infections.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, April 12
- India said Monday it now has over 13.52 million coronavirus cases, making it a country with the second most infections in the world after the United States, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.
- A total of 60.3 percent of people surveyed in Japan said they are dissatisfied with progress in the government's COVID-19 vaccine rollout, a Kyodo News poll showed Monday.
- Japan started vaccinating elderly people against the novel coronavirus Monday, the second group to be inoculated following health care workers, as concern over a "fourth wave" of the pandemic grew.
- Japan's coronavirus inoculation campaign has been progressing slowly, with over 99 percent of the population yet to receive a shot about two months after its start, trailing many developed nations.
- The governors of Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa enhanced their responses to the coronavirus pandemic Monday amid a resurgence of infections, less than a month after Japan fully lifted a second COVID-19 state of emergency.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - April 3~9