As of 11 p.m., Monday, Aug. 2

• A Cambodian government agency that uses dogs to detect land mines said Monday that some have been successfully trained to detect coronavirus infections in humans.
  
  
• Japan reported 8,393 new coronavirus cases on Monday, almost double the figure confirmed the same day in the previous week, as infections continue to surge in and around the capital where the Olympics are being held.
  
  
• The policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday called for active debate in the Diet on legal revisions that would introduce lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
  
  
• Ecuadorian Sports Minister Sebastian Palacios has said the Olympics currently under way in Tokyo are significant in uniting the world through the power of sports during a difficult time with the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• Temporary post offices opened in the Tokyo Olympic athletes' village and the main press center have become valuable souvenir shopping spots for foreign athletes and news reporters whose activities are restricted amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• Seventeen more people associated with the Tokyo Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total since the start of July to 276, games organizers said Monday.
  
  
• Three prefectures in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Osaka entered into a COVID-19 state of emergency Monday due to a recent spike in coronavirus cases, joining the capital and Okinawa, amid fears of a medical system collapse during the Tokyo Olympics.
  
  
• Survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan have a "profound role" to play in catastrophes such as the coronavirus pandemic, a leading American psychohistorian renowned for his studies of people under stress told Kyodo News in a recent interview.

As of 10 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 1

• The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed Sunday 3,058 daily coronavirus cases, with public concern high over a surge in infections while the Olympics are under way in the capital.
  
  
• The CEO of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee said Sunday the COVID-19 situation among athletes and staff has been "within expectations," insisting that there is no link between the games and surging infections in the Japanese capital and beyond.
  
  
• The Japanese government on Sunday started administering COVID-19 vaccine shots at Narita and Haneda airports to citizens who return from abroad temporarily to be inoculated.
  
  
• Japan has signed an agreement with Mongolia to extend 883 million yen ($8 million) in grant aid to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - July 24~30

 

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (L) visits a COVID-19 mass vaccination center operated by the metropolitan government in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Aug. 1, 2021.(Pool photo) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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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

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