Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
<Nov. 16, 2022>
- Japan has entered the eighth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, marking a period where "high-risk behaviors" should be controlled based on the "judgment of each individual," the Japan Medical Association said Wednesday.
- Princess Hisako, the widow of former Emperor Akihito's cousin, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Imperial Household Agency said Wednesday, making her the fifth COVID-19 case within the Japanese imperial family.
<Nov. 15, 2022>
- Japan's daily COVID-19 cases topped 100,000 on Tuesday for the first time in two months after the government scrapped coronavirus border controls and implemented a domestic travel subsidy program in a bid to spur inbound and local tourism last month.
- Japan will allow international cruise ships to dock at its ports, transport minister Tetsuo Saito said Tuesday, lifting a more than two-year ban imposed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to stem the virus' spread in the country.
- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has had to cancel attending the Group of 20 summit of major economies in Bali, Indonesia, after testing positive for COVID-19.
<Nov. 13, 2022>
- A medical association in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi is launching a probe into the death of a 42-year-old woman after she was given a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine tailored for the BA.5 Omicron subvariant.
<Nov. 12, 2022>
- Sadaharu Oh, Japanese pro baseball's all-time home run leader and chairman of the SoftBank Hawks, was released from a hospital in Miyazaki on Saturday after being treated for the coronavirus, the club said.
<Nov. 11, 2022>
- The number of foreign tourists that arrived in Japan in October increased more than 15-fold from the previous month to 288,909, government data showed Friday, as the country removed almost all COVID-19 entry restrictions on Oct. 11.
- Nearly 60 percent of people in Japan were unaware of government guidance that wearing masks outdoors for protection against the coronavirus is unnecessary in most cases, recent survey results have shown.
- Japan is entering its eighth wave of COVID-19 infections, the country's top coronavirus adviser Shigeru Omi said Thursday, as the public begins preparing for next month's year-end revelries.
<Nov. 10, 2022>
- With coronavirus cases quickly rebounding throughout Japan, the country's eighth pandemic wave may match or exceed the previous wave's peak of more than 260,000 daily cases seen in August, the health ministry's experts panel said Wednesday.
<Nov. 7, 2022>
- Japan will aim to have inbound tourism recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2025, the tourism agency said Monday, with travel demand expected to return in line with a recovery in global air traffic.
- A panel of experts on Monday proposed that the Japanese government end the free rollout of COVID-19 vaccines administered as a special measure, citing concerns over a further deterioration of its fiscal health, already considered one of the worst among major economies.
Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Nov. 5~11
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)