Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
<Oct. 24, 2022>
- China's economy in the July-September period expanded 3.9 percent from a year earlier, with growth gathering pace from the previous quarter following the end of a two-month lockdown in Shanghai, official data showed Monday.
<Oct. 22, 2022>
- The physical fitness levels of most age groups in Japan declined in fiscal 2021 compared with two years earlier, before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, a recent government survey showed.
<Oct. 20, 2022>
- The number of weekly COVID-19 cases in Japan has risen for the first time in about two months, with increases recorded in all 47 prefectures except Okinawa, according to health ministry data compiled Thursday.
<Oct. 19, 2022>
- The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in September increased 11.7-fold from a year earlier to 206,500, government data showed Wednesday, with the figure likely to jump in the coming months after Japan removed almost all its COVID-19 entry restrictions earlier this month.
- The Japanese government on Wednesday eased its travel warning over the coronavirus pandemic for 76 countries and areas, such as Australia and Taiwan, no longer requesting that residents in Japan refrain from nonessential trips to any country.
<Oct. 16, 2022>
- The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan rose 6.9 percent in the April-September period from a year earlier to 3,141 for the first increase in three years, according to a survey by a credit research company.
<Oct. 15, 2022>
- Numerous tourist spots in Japan saw visitors return Saturday, the first weekend after the government scrapped coronavirus border controls and implemented a domestic travel subsidy program in a bid to spur inbound and local tourism.
<Oct. 13, 2022>
- Japan's health ministry said Thursday those at low risk of developing serious coronavirus symptoms will be encouraged to use at-home test kits and online medical services this winter, when COVID-19 and seasonal influenza are expected to spread simultaneously.
- China plans to maintain its radical "zero-COVID policy" until at least next spring to lessen the risk of severe coronavirus cases and deaths among the elderly and prevent strain on the health care system, a Communist Party source said Thursday.
- Taiwan on Thursday lifted its COVID-19 quarantine requirement for travelers to remain in isolation for three days, in a move aimed at reviving its pandemic-battered tourism industry.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Oct. 15~21
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)