Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 2
- Yokozuna Hakuho's participation in this month's Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament remains up in the air despite the 36-year-old testing negative for the coronavirus, the Japan Sumo Association revealed Thursday.
- Tokyo is still behind its goal of securing 7,000 beds for COVID-19 patients, the metropolitan government said Thursday, as the medical system remains strained due to a surge of coronavirus cases amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
- A foreign Paralympian has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, the first such case among athletes either at the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics, the games organizing committee said Thursday.
- Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday pledged an economic package totaling tens of trillions of yen to contain the coronavirus crisis as part of his policy platform for the upcoming ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election.
- The foreign matter found in some lots of Moderna Inc.'s vaccine distributed but suspended from use in Japan was confirmed to be stainless steel that was mixed during the manufacturing process, the health ministry said Wednesday.
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 1
- Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura, who has faced a barrage of criticism for suddenly biting an Olympic softball player's gold medal last month, on Wednesday tested positive for the coronavirus, the local government said.
- Grand champion Hakuho could miss September's Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament following a Japan Sumo Association announcement on Wednesday that a second-tier juryo division wrestler at his Miyagino stable had tested positive for the coronavirus.
- Japan is considering extending the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and 20 of Japan's 47 prefectures by another two weeks, as it looks increasingly unlikely the current situation will warrant the lifting of the measure on its planned Sept. 12 expiry, government sources said Wednesday.
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday ruled out dissolving the House of Representatives for a general election anytime soon given Japan's current severe COVID-19 situation, tamping down speculation he would do so in mid-September.
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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