<Jan. 27, 2023>

• The number of foreigners entering Japan surged nearly 12-fold to 4.20 million people in 2022, as COVID-19 border control measures were eased gradually and the number of inbound tourists spiked, the Immigration Services Agency's data showed Friday.
  
  
• Japan formally decided Friday to downgrade the legal status of the novel coronavirus on May 8 to the same category as common infectious diseases, such as seasonal influenza, to ease COVID-19 prevention rules, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

<Jan. 26, 2023>

• The Japanese government is planning to lift COVID-19 regulations on events, allowing spectators to shout and cheer even when the venue is filled to capacity, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
  
  
• The Japanese government plans to reclassify the novel coronavirus to the same category as common infectious diseases such as seasonal influenza effective May 8, government sources said Thursday.

<Jan. 25, 2023>

• Chinese health authorities said Wednesday it confirmed 6.94 million new coronavirus cases on Dec. 22, marking the highest number of daily infections as the country's reversal of its "zero-COVID" policy strategy sparked a massive wave of cases.
  
  
• The Japanese government on Wednesday downgraded its economic outlook for the first time in 11 months, reflecting a fall in exports amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in China.

<Jan. 23, 2023>

• Japan's fiscal health has been deteriorating on an "unprecedented" scale after massive spending amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Monday, saying it is crucial to secure fiscal space for the debt-ridden nation in case of future crises.

<Jan. 21, 2023>

• Teachers, students, medical experts and other citizens voiced anxieties Friday over the downgrading of COVID-19's legal status this spring, fearing that the action will remove anti-infection measures that have become an entrenched part of daily lives and heighten infection risks.
  
  
• The weeklong Lunar New Year holidays in China began on Saturday with no COVID restrictions after the country significantly eased its antivirus measures, but the expected large-scale human migration is prompting concern over possible outbreaks in rural areas with less developed health care systems.

<Jan. 20, 2023>

• China said Friday it will allow group tours to resume to 20 countries starting Feb. 6 after it reopened its borders and abandoned quarantine measures earlier this month in a full departure from its strict "zero-COVID" policy, but Japan was not among the destinations.
  
  
• What will change in Japan when the legal status of the novel coronavirus is downgraded to Class 5, on par with seasonal influenza?
  
  
• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will instruct health ministry officials to begin discussions in spring on downgrading the classification of the coronavirus to the same level as seasonal influenza, a government source said Friday.
  
  
• The number of suicides in Japan in 2022 rose from the previous year, pushed up by the first increase among men in 13 years, preliminary government data showed Friday.

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Japan and beyond: Week in Photos - Jan. 21~27

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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)

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