Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9
- Ryo Ishikawa said Tuesday he will resign as vice chairman of the Japan Golf Tour Players Association and the Japan Golf Tour Organization following a tabloid report that he broke quarantine rules after arriving home from a trip to the United States.
- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner agreed Tuesday on a measure to distribute cash and vouchers each worth 50,000 yen ($443) to people aged 18 and younger to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
- Business sentiment among workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends in Japan jumped in October to its highest level since January 2014 as the government lifted the state of emergency over the coronavirus and eateries and retailers began recovering from the pandemic fallout, official data showed Tuesday.
- Four athletes and six staffers of Japan's national speed skating team have tested positive for coronavirus while attending a training camp in Inzell, Germany, the Japan Skating Federation said Tuesday.
- The cumulative worldwide total of infections with the novel coronavirus exceeded 250 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University of the United States.
As of 11 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8
- Japan will revise its criteria used to assess the COVID-19 situation, shifting focus to hospital capacity from the number of new infections, in line with the increase in the vaccination rate, government officials said Monday.
- Japan's government started on Monday accepting applications for sharply reduced COVID-19 quarantine periods for vaccinated business travelers, ending a ban in principle on entry by overseas-based foreign businesspeople introduced in January.
- Japan saw no deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday for the first time in about 15 months amid progress in vaccine rollouts and the spread of medicines, authorities said.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Oct. 30 ~ Nov. 5
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)