Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 23
- Tokyo reported 32 new coronavirus cases Saturday, falling below 50 for the seventh consecutive day, as Japan has seen the number of infections falling steadily in tandem with progress in getting people vaccinated.
- Japanese political party leaders took to the streets Saturday, the first weekend since official campaigning for next week's general election began, with how to improve the lives of those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic one of the hotly debated issues.
- Japanese staffing firm Pasona Group Inc. has said it will launch next month a service focused on introducing to companies in Japan overseas IT engineers who will work remotely from home amid travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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While speculation swirls over Vice Finance Minister Koji Yano's opinion piece in a magazine with the House of Representatives election just around the corner, experts say it was a timely reminder of the structural challenges faced by the Japanese economy regardless of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
As of 11 p.m., Friday, Oct. 22
- The Group of 20 major economies should lead global efforts to prepare for the next pandemic, the head of one of the organizations co-leading a body promoting global access to COVID vaccines has said, expecting their leaders to make progress to that end later this month in Rome.
- Tokyo confirmed 26 daily coronavirus cases Friday, the fewest since June 2020, as the downward trend in infections continues across Japan
- Residents of Australia's second-largest city Melbourne gathered at pubs and restaurants early Friday morning after it exited from a total of 262 days of lockdown, the longest cumulative period of stay-at-home orders in the world.
- Over 650 academics and students from universities in the United States, Japan, Britain and other countries on Thursday called on the Japanese government to resume issuing student and researcher visas, a process currently suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in September, the first year-on-year gain in 18 months, pushed up by higher energy prices at a time when the economy remains fragile as a result of the spread of COVID-19, government data showed Friday.
- Thailand will allow travelers from a total of 46 countries including Japan to visit the country without a quarantine if they are fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, with the policy set to take effect Nov. 1, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha revealed Thursday on Facebook.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - October 16~22
Useful resources for foreign residents and visitors in Japan
- Health ministry call center
COVID-19: 0120-565-653 (toll free)
COVID-19 Vaccines: 0120-761-770 (toll free)
-Interpreters available for English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; for Thai 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; for Vietnamese 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. - Health ministry's COVID-19 Vaccine Navigation website
https://v-sys.mhlw.go.jp/en/ - 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)