Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
People walk in a snow-covered Kanazawa, central Japan, on Jan. 13, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14
- Japan will shorten to 10 days the current 14-day isolation period for close contacts of the Omicron COVID-19 variant among the general public, health minister Shigeyuki Goto said Friday.
- Tokyo confirmed 4,051 daily coronavirus cases Friday, topping the 4,000 mark for the first time since Aug. 27, the metropolitan government said.
- Pfizer Japan Inc. said Friday it has applied to the Japanese health ministry for approval of its COVID-19 pill which, if granted, would make it the second oral drug for mild coronavirus cases available in the country.
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 13
- COVID-19 booster shots for Japan's general public will start sooner than initially scheduled amid a surge of new cases driven by the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the health minister said Thursday.
- Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday clusters of COVID-19 cases at U.S. military facilities in Japan have possibly caused a resurgence of infections in some areas of the country.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government projected Thursday that the seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases will surge to 9,576 daily in a week if cases increase at the current pace, as an apparent sixth wave of the coronavirus pandemic hits the capital.
- The Japanese government is considering shortening the current 14-day isolation period for those who have been identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case, officials said Thursday.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - January 8~14
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)
