Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, May 11
- A 100-year-old Japanese woman who recovered from COVID-19 after being hospitalized for a month earlier this year says the key to beating the virus is to have faith that you will.
- Japan has started making arrangements to allow adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a rising number of coronavirus infections among young people, the top government spokesman said Tuesday.
- A Japanese publishing company on Tuesday took out a double-page spread in the morning editions of three major dailies to boldly criticize the government's poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Chinese authorities have decided to set a line of separation between the country and its neighbor Nepal on Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, in a bid to curb novel coronavirus infections, local media reported Tuesday.
- Japan will co-host an online summit on June 2 as part of global efforts to ensure a fair supply of coronavirus vaccines to developing countries, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.
- Tokyo on Tuesday reported 925 new coronavirus cases as concerns grow over an increasing number of infections caused by highly contagious variants of the virus.
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Japan's Naomi Osaka, the world No. 2 women's tennis player, said she is "not really sure" if the Olympics should go ahead this summer following a surge in coronavirus cases in Tokyo, the BBC reported on Monday, and Japan's top men's player Kei Nishikori expressed similar concerns over possible health risks at the games.
- A central Japan city admitted Tuesday it initially gave a pharmacy chain chief and his wife priority bookings for COVID-19 vaccination, in a revelation likely to anger seniors struggling to make reservations amid the slow vaccine rollout.
- U.S. regulators on Monday authorized the emergency use of Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine for adolescents as young as 12 years old, lowering the minimum age from 16.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, May 10
- German biotechnology company BioNTech SE said Monday it has chosen Singapore for its first regional hub in the Asia-Pacific region and will also set up a manufacturing facility in the city-state to produce mRNA-based vaccines.
- An economic adviser to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga drew fire for downplaying the COVID-19 situation in Japan and dismissing calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics.
- Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. is expecting to provide a coronavirus vaccine within the year if conditions are met, its president said Monday.
- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach's planned visit to Japan in mid-May has been postponed amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections in the country, the organizing committee for this summer's Tokyo Games said Monday.
- The leader of Japan's main opposition party said Monday there is no way to safely hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer, questioning Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's assurances that sufficient COVID-19 measures will be in place.
- Panasonic Corp. said Monday its sales in fiscal 2020 dropped 10.6 percent from a year earlier to 6.70 trillion yen ($61.5 billion), slipping below 7 trillion yen for the first time in 25 years, hurt by weak sales of its devices for cars and aircraft amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Tokyo Olympic torch relay set to run through the western Japan prefecture of Okayama next week is unlikely to be conducted on public roads due to an increase in coronavirus infections, prefectural officials said Monday.
- Internet traffic in Japan saw a some 78-time increase in 2020 from the 2004 level, partly due to a surge in online communications in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data.
- Japan accelerated Monday its rollout of coronavirus vaccines with the aim of inoculating all of the elderly by the end of July amid a fourth wave of infections.
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday the government needs to speed up the process of approving clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines at a time when Japanese drugmakers have lost ground to foreign rivals.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - May 1~7
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