Wearing masks outdoors to protect against the coronavirus is not necessary providing social distancing is practiced, Japan’s top government spokesman said Wednesday, with the approach of summer increasing the risk of heatstroke.
Most foreign students waiting to study in Japan will likely be able to enter the country by the end of May, as a new priority entry program is set to begin amid softer COVID-19 border controls, the top Japanese government spokesman said Wednesday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Thursday that he will raise the daily cap on arrivals from overseas to 7,000 starting March 14 and extend quasi-emergencies in 18 out of the 31 prefectures where the measure is currently in effect.
The Japanese government is nearing a decision to declare a quasi-state of emergency for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures amid a rapid increase in the number of novel coronavirus cases in the region, a government source said Monday.
Japan will close its borders to new entries by foreigners amid concern over the new Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday as he vowed to move quickly to “avoid the worst-case scenario.”
Tokyo reported a record 2,848 daily coronavirus infections on Tuesday, four days after the opening of the Olympics, with health experts warning that the worst is yet to come.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Bourla in Tokyo on Friday and asked the U.S. firm to bring forward some of its COVID-19 vaccine deliveries planned for this fall in the face of concerns in the country about a supply shortage, officials said.
The Japanese government plans to declare another COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo amid a resurgence of infections just over two weeks before the Summer Olympics open in the capital, a senior official with knowledge of the matter said Wednesday.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito is believed to be “concerned” that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics could cause a further increase in coronavirus cases, the head of the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
Japan’s top coronavirus adviser said Wednesday it is “not normal” to host this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics amid the coronavirus pandemic. Shigeru Omi, an infectious disease expert who heads a government subcommittee on the coronavirus, also said the Tokyo Games organizing committee is responsible for drawing up sufficient anti-virus measures to ensure the safety of the participants.
Japan will start COVID-19 vaccinations at workplaces and universities on June 21 to speed up the pace of the country’s sluggish vaccine rollout, its top government spokesman said Tuesday.
The Japanese government plans to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency set to expire at the end of May in Tokyo and eight prefectures to June 20, a senior official said Thursday.
Japan opened state-run mass coronavirus vaccination centers on Monday in Tokyo and Osaka in a bid to accelerate an inoculation program that has lagged far behind other developed countries with just two months remaining before staging the Olympics.
Three of the four prefectures under the new coronavirus state of emergency saw record numbers of cases for a Monday as the nationwide death toll linked to COVID-19 hit a grim milestone, surpassing 10,000 fatalities later in the evening.
Vaccinations of people 65 or older against the novel coronavirus started in a limited number of municipalities in Japan on April 12 amid calls to the central government to increase the supply of doses.
