Here are the latest updates from Japan and beyond on the coronavirus outbreak:
(Tokyo)
As of 11 p.m., Thursday, April 9 (Japan time)
- The number of people traveling to the normally bustling central Tokyo area was about 60 percent lower than usual on Wednesday morning, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for the capital and six other prefectures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, data analyzed by an information technology firm showed Thursday.
- Japan’s economy in the April-June period is projected to shrink an annualized real 11.08 percent from the previous quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of contraction and the largest drop in over 11 years due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey released Thursday of economists at private institutions.
- The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that it expects the coronavirus pandemic to bring about the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression while urging governments around the world to prioritize containment and healthcare measures before shifting their focus to the economy.
- China has temporarily closed all land border crossings with Russia as it confirmed a growing number of coronavirus cases imported by people arriving from its northern neighbor.
- More than 180 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Tokyo on Thursday, a record daily increase, a metropolitan government official said.
- The Tokyo metropolitan government is arranging to allow barbers and do-it-yourself stores to operate as usual, a source familiar with the plan said Thursday, as the capital, under a state of emergency, seeks to narrow down its list of business suspensions.
- China may issue special government bonds worth 4 trillion yuan ($565.7 billion) to prop up the country’s economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
- As the new coronavirus continues to spread in Japan, recovered patients, their families, co-workers and neighbors are facing stigma and discriminatory treatment, a recurrent theme seen in society when people have been faced with new health threats, such as leprosy and the effects of nuclear accidents.
- A man was arrested in Tokyo on Wednesday for allegedly breaking an entrance door at a sports club that remained open despite the state of emergency declared due to the new coronavirus outbreak, police said.
- With public health regulations having forced bars and restaurants across Australia to close, local distilleries have begun making hand sanitizer to meet high demand and keep staff employed during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Drive-through services in Japan, once limited mainly to take-out meals, have begun to include tests for the new coronavirus and face-mask distribution as the country battles the virus pandemic.
- Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea will again extend their closure and decide their reopening date in mid-May to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in line with the government’s request, operator Oriental Land Co. said Thursday.
- Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak is having a “serious impact” on the Japanese economy, and that the global economic outlook remains very unclear.
- The central Japan prefecture of Aichi has asked the central government to add it to regions placed under a state of emergency amid the spread of the new coronavirus, Gov. Hideaki Omura said Thursday.
- WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus rejected criticism that his comments on China’s handling of the initial outbreak of the novel coronavirus were too favorable to Beijing.
List of shops closed in Tokyo following emergency declaration
As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, April 8 (Japan time)
- The Japan Medical Association said Wednesday that a medical support nonprofit organization will set up a multilingual hotline to help foreigners in Japan for inquiries regarding the new coronavirus.
- Tokyo confirmed 144 new coronavirus infections Wednesday, metropolitan government officials said, marking the highest daily increase yet in the Japanese capital.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said he may put on hold his country’s funding to the World Health Organization, criticizing the U.N. body for being “China-centric” and “wrong” in its response to the new coronavirus.
- Singapore on Wednesday imposed a strict control order that bans all social gatherings, including at home, with harsh penalties such as fines and jail time to enforce a partial lockdown that started this week to curb community spread of the new coronavirus.
- To counter the economic crisis caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, Japan adopted Tuesday its biggest-ever emergency economic package worth 108 trillion yen ($990 billion), equivalent to about 20 percent of its gross domestic product.
- Tokyo and some major cities in Japan appeared unusually quiet on Wednesday with many stores shut and fewer people in the streets, a day after a state of emergency was declared over the new coronavirus outbreak.
- Japanese governors urged the state to compensate businesses so they can comply with requests to halt operations and cancel events, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
- The Japan Sport Council said it will close to athletes two major Olympic training facilities in response to the government’s declaration of a state of emergency.
- Complaint calls over scams related to the novel coronavirus have topped 10,000 since the start of the domestic outbreak in January, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan said.
- China on Wednesday reported 199 new coronavirus infection cases on the mainland, 62 with symptoms and 137 without, tripling the previous day’s tally as imported cases surge.
- China lifted the months-long lockdown imposed on Wuhan, the original epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, on Wednesday, in a symbolic sign that the country’s leadership is confident in decelerating the pace of new infections.
(Osaka)
Useful resources for foreign residents and visitors in Japan
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s COVID-19 info
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/flow/ - Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s hotline
– Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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“
– Available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese 24 hours a day
050-3816-2787
+81-50-3816-2787 (from overseas)
http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001328767.pdf - Japan’s health ministry hotline
– Available in Japanese only, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
0120-565653 - World Health Organization’s “Q&A on coronaviruses“
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
