Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 15
- White matter has been found in more unused vials of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine in and around Tokyo, with all of them from the same lot as those reported the previous day, the local governments said Wednesday.
- The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in August was down 99.0 percent from the same month in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 on continued strict travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday.
- Japan's top COVID-19 adviser Shigeru Omi on Wednesday warned against hastily easing anti-pandemic restrictions on people's lives and called for relaxing measures only after the state of emergency is lifted.
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 14
- Japan saw a sharp increase in the deaths of people aged 59 or younger due to COVID-19 amid the latest round of the coronavirus pandemic with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, the health ministry said Tuesday.
- Foreign matter has been found in four unused vials of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine in two cities near Tokyo, the local governments said Tuesday.
- The Tokyo stock market ended higher Tuesday, with the key Nikkei and Topix indexes closing at their highest levels in 31 years, as Japan's progress in its COVID-19 vaccination efforts lifted expectations for broader economic activity and hopes grew for possible stimulus under a new prime minister.
- Japanese travel agency JTB Corp. said Tuesday it sold its Tokyo headquarters as well as another building in Osaka as it progresses a restructuring effort aimed at shoring up its finances after the COVID-19 pandemic killed demand for its services.
- U.S. President Joe Biden will host the first-ever in-person "Quad" meeting with leaders from Japan, Australia and India on Sept. 24 to advance cooperation in such areas as combating the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said Monday.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - September 4~10
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