As of 10 p.m., Thursday, April 29
- Tokyo reported 1,027 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest daily level since Jan. 28.
- Suzuki Motor Corp. will temporarily halt its three plants in India from later this week to make oxygen used in the car manufacturing process available for rapidly increasing coronavirus patients in the South Asian country, a company official said Thursday.
- Osaka University and Hokkaido University in Japan have developed a system capable of analyzing genetic mutations of the novel coronavirus much quicker than conventional methods.
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.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - April 17~23