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Almost all Japan households received virus relief cash handouts

Aug 26, 2020 (Japan Times) - The government said Tuesday 98.6 percent of households in Japan have received the one-off ¥100,000 yen ($940) cash handouts meant to help cushion the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic that has continued to linger, with Tokyo seeing 182 new daily cases of the virus.

The government has completed handing out the money to approximately 58.26 million households, equivalent to ¥12.55 trillion, or 98.5 percent, of the budget for the project, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

In principle, the head of a household receives the total amount of the cash handouts for family members transferred to his or her bank account.

Residents in Japan were able to apply for the handouts for three months from when the municipalities they live in began accepting applications, with many reaching their deadline by the end of August.

Tokyo has seen new infections in triple digits for almost the entire month, except for Monday. Although the capital has experienced a daily record of 472 on Aug. 1, the number of cases has been on a decline since mid-August.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s single-day figure of 182 new cases, confirmed Tuesday, now brings the cumulative total in the capital to 19,610.

The figure is nearly double the 95 reported the previous day, which was the lowest daily figure since July 8 when 75 infections were reported.

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Typhoon No. 30 remained extremely powerful at 6 a.m. on October 22 and is expected to turn northwest toward OkinTyphoon No. 30 (Champa), a large and very powerful storm, was moving northwest south of Okinawa as of 9 p.m. on October 22, with the Sakishima Islands already experiencing violent winds ahead of the typhoon's expected closest approach from the afternoon of October 23 through the early hours of October 24, while an approaching autumn rain front threatens widespread heavy rainfall across western Japan.awa's Sakishima Islands, bringing violent winds and torrential rain, while a weather front combined with the typhoon could deliver up to 300 millimeters of rainfall across western and eastern Japan through the weekend.

A growing wave of cyberattacks across Japan has raised concerns over the possible use of Chinese-developed artificial intelligence in hacking operations, with personal information belonging to tens of thousands of police employees potentially exposed and major companies forced to suspend online services, while cybersecurity experts warn that slow decision-making within Japanese organizations is allowing damage to spread.

Japan's H3 rocket successfully launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on the morning of October 20th, placing the probe into its planned orbit in the first stage of a mission to collect samples from one of Mars' moons and return them to Earth.

Motorcycle owners across Japan can now choose their preferred license plate numbers under a new system introduced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on October 19th, with popular numbers allocated by lottery and applications costing between 2,500 and 3,000 yen.

Nearly one in three large companies in Japan have experienced a data leak or a suspected breach, according to a survey released by Teikoku Databank on October 19th, highlighting growing concerns over corporate information security as unauthorized access incidents continue to affect businesses across the country.

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A wave of copper thefts has struck public facilities across Japan, with thieves stripping metal from bridges, park shelters and shrines, including a park known as a popular anime pilgrimage site, while police in Nagano Prefecture have made arrests following a series of similar incidents.

Police in Kochi Prefecture have released footage of a group of teenagers riding motorcycles recklessly through Kochi City on January 1st, 2026, in a New Year's Day incident known as a "first sunrise motorcycle rampage," with 18 people aged between 15 and 19 arrested or referred to prosecutors for suspected violations of the Road Traffic Act.

Empress Emerita Michiko celebrated her 92nd birthday on October 20th, receiving birthday greetings from Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and other members of Japan's imperial family at her residence in Tokyo, as concerns grow over her declining physical strength and signs of fatigue.

The deputy mayor of Saijo City in Ehime Prefecture died after being crushed beneath a festival float weighing approximately 3 tons while participating in a traditional autumn festival on October 17.

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrived in Tottori Prefecture on October 19 for her first visit to the region, where she is scheduled to attend a national disaster prevention conference and a symposium on disaster preparedness.

Police in Gunma Prefecture rearrested a 30-year-old man on October 18 on suspicion of murdering his former mother-in-law at her home in Ota City last month, following an attack that also left the woman's eldest son injured.

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Three people, including a former chief priest, have been arrested over the alleged takeover of a historic Buddhist temple in central Kyoto, with investigators suspecting they sold temple-owned land and buildings without authorization for approximately 226 million yen, leaving the 300-year-old institution with almost none of its property beyond its main hall and grounds.