News On Japan

Tourist on Japan's package tour trial tests positive for COVID-19

May 30 (Japan Times) - A foreign tourist on a package tour trial in Oita Prefecture has tested positive for the coronavirus, with three others considered close contacts, the tourism agency said Monday.

The tourists, all Thai nationals, got tested after the individual complained of a sore throat on Monday, according to Kyodo News. The tour has been canceled.

The individual, who has no fever, is expected to quarantine in a repurposed facility for people who have tested positive for COVID-19. The travel agency that hosted the tour is coordinating with authorities to deal with the situation.

The three close contacts are currently isolating at a separate hotel, the agency said. They received a negative result in an antigen test and do not have any symptoms.

Source: 日テレNEWS

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Rain affected parts of Japan on Tuesday morning as a low-pressure system and front moved through, bringing heavier downpours in some areas. Skies are expected to clear across much of the country this afternoon. However, yellow sand drifting in from the Asian continent is forecast to spread over a wide area, raising concerns over reduced visibility and worsening health conditions.

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku.

JR East has launched a preview version of its new online Shinkansen booking platform, JRE GO, promising reservations in as little as one minute and easier handling of sudden schedule changes.

A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported.

Police investigating the death of an 11-year-old boy whose body was found in a forest in Kyoto Prefecture believe his father moved the remains between several locations over a number of days in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Travel NEWS

Taxi fares in Tokyo's 23 wards, as well as Mitaka and Musashino, rose by about 10% on Monday, marking the first increase in the central Tokyo area in roughly three and a half years.

Typhoon No. 4, Sinlaku, moved northeast on April 19 while accelerating over waters near Minamitorishima, east of the Ogasawara Islands, according to weather officials. Although the storm is rapidly moving away from Japan, rough seas are expected to persist, prompting continued caution across the island chain.

The city of Nara is preparing to search for geothermal sources, hoping onsen facilities can help increase overnight stays in the ancient capital, where the city has long struggled to turn day-trippers into hotel guests despite being one of Japan's best-known sightseeing destinations, ranking last nationwide in annual overnight visitors in 2021 and underscoring weak tourism spending.

A series of earthquakes struck northern Nagano Prefecture, with the strongest registering upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale.

The dismantling of the upper ornament of the five-story pagoda at Kofukuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Nara, was opened to the media on April 15 as the temple undergoes its first major restoration in around 120 years.

Japan already classifies days with highs of 30C or above as manatsubi (midsummer days) and those reaching 35C or above as moshobi (extremely hot days). It has now introduced a new term for days when temperatures climb to 40C or higher.

JR Tokai has announced a new inspection-equipped Shinkansen named 'Doctor S', set to take over the role of the famed 'Doctor Yellow', the bright yellow bullet train affectionately known as the train that brings good luck when spotted.

Spending by foreign visitors to Japan from January to March rose 2.5% from a year earlier to 2.3378 trillion yen, the Japan Tourism Agency said, marking the third-highest quarterly total on record, while the number of inbound visitors in March increased 3.5% to 3,618,900, setting a new record for the month.