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Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from Japan and beyond:
<April 16, 2022>
- About 373 million people in 45 cities across China have come under some form of lockdown due to a surge in coronavirus cases amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, according to estimates by a Nomura Holdings Inc. unit.
- Japan’s top coronavirus adviser said Friday the country no longer needs to “fully” stop social activities, as symptoms of the currently dominant Omicron variant are less severe than those of previous strains, in a major shift from his previous stance focusing on strict controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Hong Kong will ease some social distancing measures including dining restrictions from later this month as the city is recovering from its largest outbreak of the coronavirus, the city government said Thursday.
- A famous cherry-blossom lane in Osaka that is home to 138 varieties of sakura tree and 335 trees in total reopened Wednesday after a two-year closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Japan and the United States are set to exclude Russian COVID-19 vaccines from a list of items subject to financial assistance when manufactured in developing countries, sources familiar with the plan said Tuesday.
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Around 30,000 foreign students have arrived in Japan since March when the government eased COVID-19 border controls, education minister Shinsuke Suematsu said Tuesday.
- Japan has confirmed its first case of the Omicron XE derivative strain of the novel coronavirus in a woman upon arrival at Narita airport near Tokyo, the health ministry said Monday.
- Japan’s economy still shows some weakness due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it will continue to recover despite a blow from surging commodity prices, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Monday.
- Tokyo reported 8,026 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, seeing a week-on-week increase for the fourth consecutive day as health experts have warned of another wave of infections.
- Japan will contribute up to $500 million to U.N.-backed efforts to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday at a leaders’ summit held to secure funding to boost the global vaccination rate.
- Japan has no plan for now to resume the entry of foreign tourists to the country but will make a judgment after looking at the COVID-19 infection situation and border control steps taken by other nations, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday.
- U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has postponed her planned trip to Asia after testing positive for the coronavirus, her spokesman said Thursday.
- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that there are “signs of a resurgence” in coronavirus infections in Japan, particularly among young people.
- Japan will lift its entry ban on nonresident foreign nationals from 106 countries including Britain, India and the United States starting from Friday, the government said, as part of procedures to gradually ease COVID-19 restrictions.
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