Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
People walk amid rain and wind in front of JR Hakata Station in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, on Sept. 17, 2021. Typhoon Chanthu made landfall on the nation's southwestern main island of Kyushu in the evening. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 18
- Seiko Noda, a candidate to succeed Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, called Saturday for COVID-19 vaccines to be administered to children aged 11 and under.
- U.S. President Joe Biden will convene a virtual meeting of world leaders next Wednesday to enhance efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic such as through equitable access to vaccines, the White House said.
As of 11 p.m., Friday, Sept. 17
- The Oct. 17 Tokyo Marathon has been postponed with the capital among areas remaining under a state of emergency over COVID-19, the race's organizing body said Friday.
- Japan started discussions Friday on administering third shots of coronavirus vaccines to people at least eight months after their second dose, as the nation looks to respond to the continued spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - September 11~17
Photo taken on Sept. 15, 2021, shows a building housing a Panasonic Corp. showroom on the north side of JR Osaka Station in western Japan. The Japanese electronics giant has decided to close Panasonic Center Osaka by the end of fiscal 2021 through next March in view of dwindling customer traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to sources close to the move. (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
