Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
As of 10 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 12
- More than 50 percent of Japan's population has received two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, with the vaccination rate on course to soon draw level with major economies in Europe, the minister in charge of coronavirus response said Sunday.
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 11
- Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said Saturday he wants the cardboard beds athletes slept on at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to be made available for COVID-19 patients.
- Japanese prefectural governors on Saturday expressed concerns over the potential impact of the central government's laying out of its plans for a future easing of COVID-19 restrictions even as it extended the state of emergency in Tokyo and many other areas.
- Japan will start discussing as early as next week whether to administer third shots of coronavirus vaccine, potentially by the end of the year, amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, sources familiar with the matter said Friday
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