Health ministry panel agrees on preparing to administer fourth doses of COVID vaccines

Mar 24, 2022 | News On Japan

Mar 24, 2022 (Japan Times) - Japan will start preparing to administer fourth doses of coronavirus vaccines, a health ministry subcommittee agreed Thursday, after the government said it would buy additional vaccine doses from two U.S. pharmaceutical companies.

The details, including whether to actually administer the additional booster shots and who would be eligible, will be determined later.

The agreement among subcommittee members came after the government said it had agreed to procure a total of 145 million vaccine doses from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. to prepare for the rollout of fourth shots.

The subcommittee also approved the administration of third shots of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children of ages between 12 and 17, with vaccinations expected to begin as early as next month.

Fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines are recommended in Israel and the U.K., with recipients limited to medical staff and individuals at high risk of developing severe symptoms.

The effectiveness of third shots against the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus has been found to wane over time. ...continue reading

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.