Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
Sumo wrestlers gather on the raised ring on the first day of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 9, 2021, being held behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament will allow spectators from the fourth day on May 12. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
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.
As of 11 p.m., Sunday, May 9
- Roughly 420 track-and-field athletes went through their paces Sunday inside an empty National Stadium, where COVID-19 countermeasures were in place with nine of the athletes coming from overseas.
- India's capital region of Delhi on Sunday announced an extension of its coronavirus lockdown until May 17, with tightened restrictions such as suspension of Metro trains.
- Japan's confirmed daily coronavirus infections topped 6,000 for the third straight day on Sunday, while the number of patients with severe symptoms rose to a record 1,144, amid the spread of more contagious variants.
- While uncertainty remains over when -- or if -- travel demand will make a full-fledged recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Japan's two major airlines are positioning themselves to take advantage of any upturn with a punt on low-cost services.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - May 1~7
An Olympic test event for athletics is held at an empty National Stadium in Tokyo on May 9, 2021, with spectators not allowed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
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
