Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
<April 1, 2022>
- Japan's recovery from the COVID-19 economic fallout is at a crossroads as surging raw material costs, driven by the war in Ukraine and amplified by a weak yen, are beginning to cool corporate sentiment.
- The government said Friday that Seiko Noda, minister in charge of gender equality and children's policies, has been infected with the novel coronavirus, the first confirmed case among incumbents of the Japanese Cabinet.
- Japan will raise its daily limit on entrants from overseas to around 10,000 from April 10, up from the current 7,000, the top government spokesman said Friday.
- Japan on Friday eased its travel warning for 106 nations including the United States and India over the coronavirus pandemic, no longer recommending Japanese nationals against traveling to these areas.
- The western part of Shanghai, China's financial and business hub, began to be locked down Friday to carry out mass COVID-19 testing, as new infections with the novel coronavirus has been resurging recently.
- New recruits at companies, public offices, and other organizations in Japan began work Friday, the start of the fiscal year, with some firms reviving in-person ceremonies for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic more than two years ago.
<March 30, 2022>
- The number of Japanese students studying abroad in fiscal 2020 dived 98.6 percent from a year earlier to 1,487, a survey showed Wednesday, as strict border controls amid the coronavirus pandemic forced many students to cancel or postpone their study plans.
<March 29, 2022>
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it has approved the emergency use of an additional dose of coronavirus vaccines separately developed by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., with people aged 50 or older eligible for the fourth shots.
- Japan had fewer foreign residents as of the end of 2021, down 4.4 percent from a year before, apparently due to its tighter border controls amid the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed Tuesday.
<March 28, 2022>
- China's financial hub of Shanghai came under lockdown for nine days starting Monday, with each half of the city to be shut down in turns to conduct mass COVID-19 testing, sparking fears about the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
<March 24, 2022>
- Singapore said Thursday it will scrap its outdoor mask mandate and reopen its border to fully vaccinated visitors from all countries as COVID-19 infections subside in the city-state.
- Japan will start preparations for the administration of fourth shots of coronavirus vaccines, a health ministry subcommittee agreed Thursday, after the government said it would procure additional doses from two U.S. pharmaceutical companies.
<March 23, 2022>
- A Japanese health ministry panel approved on Wednesday the administration of third booster shots of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine to children aged between 12 and 17.
- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he will instruct his ministers to compile an economic stimulus package in a bid to address the impact on consumers from higher oil and other commodity prices as well as the coronavirus pandemic.
<March 22, 2022>
- A COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency ended Tuesday in all 18 prefectures covered, including Tokyo and Osaka, amid a decreasing trend in the number of new infections.
<March 21, 2022>
- Hong Kong will lift the ban on commercial flights from nine countries on April 1, with the quarantine period for inbound travelers to be halved to seven days, city leader Carrie Lam said Monday.
<March 19, 2022>
- China on Saturday reported two COVID-19 deaths, the first since January last year, as the number of citizens newly infected with the novel coronavirus has been sharply increasing in the country.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - March 19~25
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)