Society

Okinawa hospitals forced to limit patients

Jun 03 (NHK) - Hospitals in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa are moving to limit the number of patients they see or admit as the rapid spread of the coronavirus has caused a shortage of hospital beds.

In Okinawa, hospital beds for coronavirus carriers were 97.9 percent full as of Tuesday. Beds for other patients were 93.5 percent occupied.

Nanbu Medical Center & Children's Medical Center in Haebaru Town has declared itself in a state of emergency, and announced it will impose daily caps on outpatients and inpatients through June 20.

The center says hospitalization could be delayed depending on bed availability, and that patients in need of urgent care will be given priority.

Okinawa Chubu Hospital in Uruma City is limiting outpatients and hospitalizations through next Friday.

Yaeyama Hospital in Ishigaki City has canceled afternoon examinations for outpatients, while Okinawa Miyako Hospital in Miyakojima City has postponed non-urgent operations and tests.

Avalanche Strikes Tsuchiyu Onsen in Fukushima

An avalanche occurred around noon on Monday along a prefectural road in Fukushima City, leaving two hot spring inns isolated once again due to record snowfall.

USJ Ticket Buyers to Receive Expo Admission

With just two months remaining until the opening of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, new initiatives are being introduced to enhance visitor convenience.

Police Raid Kyoto University Dormitory Following Student Protest

Six Kyoto University students have been arrested for storming the university’s main administration building during a 2022 dormitory festival with about 250 others, disrupting operations with loudspeakers, leading police to conduct a search of Kumano Dormitory on Sunday.

Foreign Tourists Spend Record 8.1 Trillion Yen in Japan

Foreign tourists spent a record 8.1 trillion yen in Japan last year, an amount equivalent to the cost of building 203 Tokyo Skytree towers. As Japan continues to attract visitors from around the world, many are curious about where this money goes and the financial backgrounds of those spending it.

Boat Travel from Kyoto to Expo 2025 to Become a Reality

Boat travel from Kyoto to the Expo 2025 site in Yumeshima will become possible next month as a council promoting Yodogawa river transport announced the opening of a new route from Fushimi.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Osaka Museum Discovers Hidden Treasure

Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts is undergoing its first major renovation since its opening, and during the process, a ceiling from 1936 was discovered. The museum also found graffiti left from the postwar period when the building was under the control of the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Allied Forces.

Low-Alcohol Drinks and Board Games: The Evolving Culture of Gen Z

Gen Z, known for valuing their personal time, is redefining how they unwind after work. From low-alcohol cocktails to board games, new trends are emerging in Tokyo's nightlife scene.

Fiery Descent at Wakayama's Kamikura Shrine

The annual Otomo Festival took place on February 6th at Kamikura Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. The event saw men clad in white robes, each carrying a flaming torch, racing down the shrine’s steep stone steps in a centuries-old tradition.