Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
<Nov. 4, 2022>
- Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged Friday that Beijing will remain committed to its opening-up policy amid frustrations among foreign businesses over the country's radical "zero-COVID" policy, which has disrupted economic activities.
- Sadaharu Oh, Japanese pro baseball's career home run leader and chairman of the Pacific League's SoftBank Hawks, has been hospitalized as a precaution due to the coronavirus, the club said Friday.
- A ferry service connecting Fukuoka in southwest Japan with South Korea's Busan resumed Friday, becoming the first regular international sea route Japan has restarted since suspending ship passenger arrivals due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ferry operator said.
<Nov. 2, 2022>
- A major motor show originally scheduled to start on Nov. 18 in the southeastern Chinese city of Guangzhou is set to be postponed to stem coronavirus infections, an organizer said Wednesday, as China sticks to its radical "zero-COVID" policy.
<Nov. 1, 2022>
- Japan's health ministry granted fast-track approval Tuesday for U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine tailored for the BA.5 subvariant now prevalent in the country.
- Japan Airlines Co. on Tuesday logged a net loss for the six months ended in September of 2.11 billion yen ($14.22 million), reporting red ink for the third straight year, as travel demand struggled to rebound during a seventh wave of COVID-19 in the country.
<Oct. 31, 2022>
- ANA Holdings Inc. said Monday it made a net profit for the six months that ended in September, marking its first black ink in three years, as travel demand rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic.
<Oct. 28, 2022>
- Rare large-scale protests broke out in Tibet on Wednesday against a two-month lockdown implemented under China's strict "zero-COVID" policy to stem coronavirus infections, U.S. media Radio Free Asia said.
<Oct. 27, 2022>
- Qatar will no longer require visitors to present evidence of a negative COVID-19 test as part of traveling to the country, the government said Wednesday, ahead of hosting the soccer World Cup finals starting next month.
<Oct. 26, 2022>
- Tokyo's famous Shibuya district is bracing for the return of large crowds of Halloween partygoers this weekend following the removal of coronavirus restrictions and Japan fully reopening its borders to independent foreign tourists.
- U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot designed to provide increased protection against the dominant Omicron variant, and called for the public to do the same.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Oct. 29~Nov. 4
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)