News On Japan

The latest changes to Japan’s quarantine measures: July 15

Jul 15, 2021 (Japan Times) - As the coronavirus situation continues to evolve worldwide, Japan has again revised its quarantine measures by tightening measures for some arrivals and relaxing them for others.

With the change, which will take effect on Sunday, people traveling from Moscow will be required to spend six days in government-designated facilities as part of the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Those travelers will also need to undergo tests for COVID-19 upon arrival and on the third and sixth day of their stay. Only those who test negative will be allowed to self-isolate for the remainder of the two-week period in facilities of their choosing.

Currently travelers from several other regions in Russia ーMoscow Oblast, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Republic of Karelia, Saratov Oblast, St. Petersburg ー are required to stay in government-picked facilities for three days. From Sunday, Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, as well as Costa Rica, Dominica and Namibia, will also be covered by this rule, which also requires an additional test for the coronavirus on the third day.

Meanwhile, as the situations in Latvia, Switzerland and Vietnam have begun to stabilize, people arriving from those countries will no longer need to stay in government-designated facilities after entering the country. The change will take effect on Sunday.

However, strict policies with an entry ban on foreign nationals, including residents of Japan, remain in place for India and several neighboring countries and regions where infections with the more transmissible delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 are believed to be rampant.

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Two typhoons south of Japan are expected to bring heavy rain over a wide area before either system makes a direct approach, with Typhoon No. 7, Mekkhala, forecast to near Okinawa and the Sakishima Islands from June 25 and some areas facing total rainfall of 300 to 500 millimeters, or locally more than 500 millimeters.

Rice field art depicting Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy is nearing its best viewing period in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, Ohtani’s hometown.

The sale of religious corporations that operate temples and shrines across Japan is drawing growing scrutiny from authorities, who fear the transactions could be used for tax evasion and money laundering, as brokers openly advertise properties and corporate status for tens or even hundreds of millions of yen.

Nine Japanese nationals were among 17 people detained in Laos on suspicion of involvement in a special fraud operation, while Japanese authorities have sought cooperation from Cambodian police over dozens of Japanese citizens believed to have gone missing after traveling to Cambodia.

Japan will begin a new system on June 23 to sell paint and thinner directly from manufacturers to construction firms and other businesses, aiming to ease supply bottlenecks and curb price increases as worsening conditions in the Middle East make such materials harder to obtain.

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A 50-year-old woman has been arrested in Kobe on suspicion of abandoning the dismembered body of her former husband in a large freezer at a condominium unit, where she allegedly continued paying rent for more than 14 years while hiding his death.

A 50-year-old member of an organization affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate has been arrested in Yamaguchi Prefecture after nearly nine years on the run over the 2017 fatal shooting of a bodyguard for the leader of a rival group in Kobe.

An Iranian national has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than 40 kilograms of stimulants from the United Arab Emirates into Japan in March, after customs officers found the drugs hidden in the bottom section of a machine used in the process of making naan bread.

Nine Japanese nationals were among 17 people detained in Laos on suspicion of involvement in a special fraud operation, while Japanese authorities have sought cooperation from Cambodian police over dozens of Japanese citizens believed to have gone missing after traveling to Cambodia.

A 32-year-old Dutch tourist has been arrested on suspicion of leaving tire marks on the asphalt after performing drift driving in the parking lot of the Oya History Museum, a tourist facility in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.

A giant stone at Mitsuishi Shrine in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, said to be linked to the origin of the prefecture’s name through a legend about a demon’s handprint, has been carved by an unknown person in what appears to be the shape of a palm.

The first trial of two men accused of killing restaurant owner Ryutaro Takarajima and his wife, Sachiko, began at the Tokyo District Court on June 22, with the 30-year-old defendant described as a directing figure admitting the charges, while the other defendant acknowledged involvement but argued that he was only an accessory.

Japan's Emperor and Empress appeared before the press with the Belgian royal family during their official visit to Belgium, joining King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their children for a commemorative photograph at the royal residence of Ciergnon Castle.