As of 11 p.m., Saturday, April 10
- Osaka Prefecture confirmed a record 918 coronavirus infections Saturday, the prefectural government said, fueling concerns about a resurgence of the virus in Japan ahead of this summer's Tokyo Olympics.
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The Japan Wrestling Federation on Friday announced the withdrawal of the national women's team from the upcoming Asian championships in Kazakhstan after a member was suspected of being in close contact with someone infected with the coronavirus.
- University of Tokyo economists estimate the Japanese capital could see an additional 4 trillion yen ($36 billion) economic hit if highly contagious coronavirus variants spread quickly across the city, but says the impact can be mitigated if infections are slowed.
- Owners of restaurants and bars in Tokyo, as well as the prefectures of Kyoto and Okinawa, on Friday expressed worries after they were added by the government to the list of areas subject to stricter anti-virus measures.
As of 11 p.m, Friday, April 9
- China has been holding a testing program for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics in a bid to gauge how the country can take steps to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading during the major sports events.
- Japan's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 500,000 on Friday, as the country braces for a possible fourth wave of infections.
- A group of 21 people at Japan's national infection research center attended a farewell party in mid-March, when a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus was still in place in Tokyo and neighboring areas, according to health ministry officials.
- The Japanese government on Friday designated Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures as requiring stronger measures to fight COVID-19 amid a resurgence in infections, less than three weeks after fully lifting a state of emergency.
- A market in the central China city of Wuhan, where many people were confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus in the initial stage of the outbreak in late 2019, is expected to be demolished, the nation's media reported Thursday.
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