Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
Women wearing formal kimono pose for photos at Tokyo DisneySea theme park where a Coming-of-Age ceremony is held for them on Jan. 10, 2022, in Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 11
- Requests by companies for their staff to get COVID-19 vaccinations could become a serious concern when Japan looks to push ahead with third doses to address increasing cases of the Omicron variant, with some companies pressuring even hesitant employees to get shots, lawyers say.
- Japan plans to expand the scope of COVID-19 inoculation to children under 12 years old at an early date to cope with another wave of infections amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday.
- The Japanese government will further extend an entry ban on non-resident foreigners until the end of February, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday.
As of 10:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 10
- Japan's COVID-19 border restrictions appear to have prompted more than 300 people to decline offers for foreign language teacher and assistant positions in Japan, leading to a fall in the number of such instructors in the country, according to a Kyodo News survey.
- Japan plans to maintain its strict border restrictions of barring almost all new entries by foreign nationals until late February in a bid to stave off the Omicron variant amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.
- The Chinese city of Tianjin, known as a major gateway to Beijing, has begun citywide COVID-19 nucleic acid testing, state-run media reported Monday, just weeks before the Winter Olympics in the capital.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - January 1~7
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)
