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Japan eases travel alert for Indonesia, Philippines, other areas

Aug 24, 2022 (Kyodo) - The Japanese government on Wednesday eased its travel warning over the coronavirus pandemic for 54 countries and a region, including Indonesia and the Philippines, and is no longer requesting that residents in Japan refrain from nonessential trips to those nations.

The Foreign Ministry said it had lowered the travel advisory for those areas from the second-lowest Level 2 on its four-point scale to Level 1, which advises Japanese nationals traveling to those regions to "stay fully alert."

Twenty-three countries and a region from the Middle East and Africa, such as Egypt and South Africa, were newly designated as Level 1. Eleven European nations including Ukraine and Russia, 10 Asian and Pacific countries such as Pakistan and Myanmar as well as 10 in Latin America were also newly designated as Level 1, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, 35 areas including Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Turkey remained under the Level 2 warning.

In addition, advisories for 41 other nations were downgraded from Level 3, which warns people to avoid all travel, to Level 2. Among them are 33 in the Middle East and Africa, four in the Caribbean, three in Eastern Europe, and Kyrgyzstan. ...continue reading

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Drones were used to deliver food and daily necessities to an isolated mountain community in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, on August 30 after torrential rain triggered a landslide that cut off road access, while volunteers continued flood recovery work in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture.

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A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.

Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.

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JR Kyushu plans to restore full service on the Kyushu Shinkansen from the first train on September 18, nearly two months after the Kumamoto earthquake caused extensive damage to tracks and stations and forced the suspension of services on part of the line.

Bear sightings are increasing across Japan this summer as a shortage of food in the mountains drives the animals closer to areas where people live and visit, with authorities in Aomori Prefecture closing a lookout near Lake Towada after a foreign tourist was attacked.

United Airlines announced on August 25 that it will launch direct flights between San Francisco and Okinawa from March 27, 2027, as the U.S. carrier seeks to capture growing demand for travel to Japan.

ANA Holdings' All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will begin coordinating departure times on the Haneda-Okayama route from October 25, an unusual move by Japan's two largest airline groups as weak business travel, a weaker yen and rising fuel and labor costs put increasing pressure on domestic operations.

Haneda Airport has unveiled a new boarding area at Terminal 1 that will begin operations in September, featuring extensive wood interiors and self-driving transportation within the facility.

A new 220-meter pedestrian suspension bridge has been completed at Biwako Valley in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, offering visitors sweeping views of Lake Biwa from mountains about 1,100 meters above sea level.