Category Archives: Japan

Coronavirus live news: WHO says nothing was hidden from US on Covid-19

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Spain proposes €1.5tn EU Covid-19 fund; US blocks pro-WHO statement by G20; Trump backs anti-lockdown protesters; deaths in Italy and Spain fall

Italy reported 454 new deaths from coronavirus on Monday, 21 more than on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 24,114.

For the first time, the number of people who are currently infected fell by 20 to 108,237.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that he understood why some people are protesting the closing down of businesses in response to the coronavirus but argued relaxing restrictions needed to be done in a way that prevented further outbreaks.

“You don’t need protests to convince anyone in this country that we have get back to work and we have to get the economy going and we have to get out of our homes. Nobody,” Cuomo told a briefing.

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Fruity and irresistible: male lemurs’ wrist scent seduces females

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‘Stink flirting’ observation may be first finding of primate sex pheromones, say scientists

An irresistible floral scent dabbed on the body may sound like a cliche from a perfume advert, but it appears to play a role in how male ring-tailed lemurs attract a mate.

Researchers in Japan say they have identified the odours males waft at females, and shown the latter’s attention is indeed captured by the pong.

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Coronavirus live news: confirmed global cases pass 1.5m as Boris Johnson leaves intensive care

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Italy’s curve flattening but deaths rise by 610; UK’s PM improves in hospital; virus could push 500m people into poverty

The UK’s housing secretary Robert Jenrick has responded on Twitter to The Guardian’s story about him visiting his parents.

For clarity - my parents asked me to deliver some essentials - including medicines.

They are both self-isolating due to age and my father's medical condition and I respected social distancing rules.https://t.co/XlRujT8S5Y

Egypt reported 139 new cases of coronavirus, bringing its total since the start of the outbreak to 1,699, according to a health ministry statement.

The Arab world’s most populous country also recorded 15 new deaths, raising the total number to 118.

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Robots replace students at Japan graduation ceremony amid Covid-19 outbreak – video

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A university in Japan has held a graduation ceremony for students using avatar robots remotely controlled by graduating students from their homes. The avatar robots, dubbed 'Newme,' by developer ANA Holdings, were dressed in graduation caps and gowns for the ceremony, complete with tablets projecting the graduates' faces. Business Breakthrough (BBT) University in Tokyo said it hoped the approach could be used as a model for other schools wishing to avoid large gatherings amid the pandemic. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency for the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures, for a period of about one month


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Confirmed cases pass 1 million – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

We are about to wrap up our coverage on this blog for the day, but you can follow all developments on our new global live blog here. In the interim, you can catch up on all the day’s latest news here, on our latest At a Glance:

Related: Coronavirus latest: at a glance

Just dipping back into the Trump press conference at the White House, and the president has blame states for lack of supplies.

“By the way, the states should have been building their stockpiles,” Trump said, reiterating that the federal government is “a backup.”

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Campaigners attack Japan’s ‘shameful’ climate plans release

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Proposals criticised amid fears countries may use coronavirus crisis to rein in commitments

Japan has laid out new plans on greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris agreement ahead of vital UN climate talks later this year, becoming the world’s first major economy to do so.

But its proposals were criticised by campaigners as grossly inadequate, amid fears the Covid-19 crisis could prompt countries to try to water down their climate commitments.

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Coronavirus live news: Cases in Italy overtake China, US infections pass 100,000

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Trump invokes Defence Production Act; Syria introduces travel restrictions; The UK, Spain, Italy see biggest daily rise in deaths. Follow the latest updates

Afghanistan has reported 15 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections to 110 - including four NATO forces and two foreign diplomats, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii reports from Herat.

Eleven of the new positive cases have been confirmed in western province of Herat, raising the total number of infections in Afghanistan’s worst affected province to 76. Herat neighbours Iran, where authorities have been struggling to control one of the world’s worst outbreaks.

This tweet from the air traffic tracking service Flightradar24, showing the number of planes in the air on Friday evening compared to four weeks earlier, shows the remarkable impact of travel restrictions across Europe.

Friday evening in Europe - February 28 vs March 27https://t.co/EqV2Vo80Kd pic.twitter.com/4puKM9G1f2

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Japan Airlines ditches compulsory high heels and skirts in big win for #KuToo movement

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Company becomes first major employer in the country to stop forcing dress code on women

Female flight attendants working for Japan Airlines will no longer be required to wear high heels or skirts, the airline has said, in a rare victory for Japan’s #KuToo campaign against workplace dress codes for women.

The airline is the first major Japanese company to relax its regulations in response to complaints from women that having to wear high heels was uncomfortable and often left them in considerable pain.

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Tokyo and Hong Kong brace amid fears of fresh wave of coronavirus cases

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Tokyo governor warns of measures to prevent ‘explosion’ of cases as Hong Kong health expert calls for curfew to handle cases arriving from overseas

Tokyo faces further isolation measures to prevent an “explosion’ of coronavirus cases and there are calls in Hong Kong for a curfew to stop the health system collapsing amid fears of a second wave of infections in eastern Asia.

The governor of Tokyo has asked the city’s residents to stay at home this weekend “at all costs” to avoid an “explosion” of Covid-19 infections following a rise in the number of local cases.

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Tokyo Olympics organisers considering options to delay – reports

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As thousands flock to the Olympic flame in Japan, the organising committee is reportedly drafting plans to postpone the Games

As huge crowds defied coronavirus fears to queue for hours to see the Olympic flame in northern Japan, a report emerged that organisers of Tokyo 2020 have begun drafting alternatives to holding the Games this summer.

In contrast to the official line from the Japanese government and the IOC, two sources familiar with the talks have told news agency Reuters that options for postponing the Games are now being drawn up.

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Coronavirus live news: Angela Merkel in quarantine; Spain set to extend state of emergency

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German chancellor in self-isolation after her doctor tests positive for coronavirus; reports say 360 more people have died in Italy; first two cases in Gaza. Follow the latest updates

UK residents have been told that “essential travel” does not include visits to second homes, camp sites, caravan parks, whether for isolation purposes or holidays and that they should remain in their primary residence.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport updated its guidance to avoid non-essential travel in the UK, saying: “This guidance is for people planning to visit second homes or holiday premises during the coronavirus pandemic.

During the coronavirus pandemic, people should avoid travelling unless it is essential. This means you should avoid visiting holiday or second homes.

Find out more: https://t.co/3JrFy1IQwH
#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/EtUt5QcBzN

The Welsh government has warned that people will face a tough crackdown if they refuse to self-isolate and continue with non-essential travel during the outbreak.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said it is important members of the public follow the official advice to prevent further deaths.

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Coronavirus news: Spain death toll passes 1,300 as Singapore reports first two deaths – live updates

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Italy deaths pass 4,000; More US states, including New York, tell people to stay home; Dow Jones falls 900 points. Follow the latest.

Boris Johnson is speaking to supermarket bosses today about how to overcome the panic buying that is gripping the UK. They will also discuss efforts to keep supplies flowing.

The meetings come ahead of the government’s daily press conference, which will be hosted by the environment secretary, George Eustice, in place of Johnson.

Scotland’s chief constable, Iain Livingstone, has warned the police will enforce the ban on all pubs, clubs and restaurants staying open — a ban he said he fully supported.

In a statement, Livingstone thanked “the overwhelming majority” of people complying with the ban. “To be clear, no public houses or other entertainment venues should be opening for patrons until further notice,” he said.

We are aware of proposed legislation in relation to COVID-19 and are carefully monitoring its progress and considering what the implications for policing will be.

In the meantime, those breaking the law will be dealt with appropriately to ensure the public is kept safe from risk and harm as we continue to police the country.

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‘No-waste’ Japanese village is a peek into carbon-neutral future

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For 20 years Kamikatsu has led the way in the world’s second biggest producer of plastic waste

The residents of a remote village on the Japanese island of Shikoku have spent almost two decades reusing, recycling and reducing, united behind a mission to end their dependence on incinerators and landfill as the world struggles to tackle the climate emergency and the plastic waste crisis.

Although Kamikatsu, an hour’s drive from the nearest city, Tokushima, and 370 miles from Tokyo, has not managed to banish waste altogether, its heroic efforts have inspired other communities in Japan and further afield to take up the zero-waste challenge.

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Abe insists Olympics to go ahead as planned despite Covid-19

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Japan’s prime minister say country will host the Games ‘without problem, as planned’

Japan is still preparing to host the Olympics, Shinzo Abe has said, despite growing concern about the viability of the summer Games because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Japan’s prime minister and his government have been adamant that the Olympics will go ahead, even as other global sporting events have been put on hold. Speculation about a delay of the July start date has grown since the Donald Trump said organisers should consider a one-year postponement.

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‘We always get an A’: Fukushima strives to prove food safety before Tokyo Games

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Stringent testing continues in prefecture to counter reputational damage from triple disaster

Knives are wielded in silence as chunks of meat are sliced up and placed in containers, the reputation of an entire region resting on every step of the process being completed without a hitch.

Staff at the Fukushima Agricultural Technology Centre are dissecting samples of beef neck; on other days it could be batches of cucumbers and peaches, or fish from the nearby Pacific Ocean.

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Japan prefecture to stop hiring female ‘tea squad’ for meetings

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Saitama assembly hopes move will reflect changing attitudes towards women in workplaces

A local government assembly is attempting to shake up Japan’s conservative workplace culture by ending the custom of employing women to serve tea at meetings.

Few official gatherings in Japan have properly begun until female employees – known collectively as the ochakumi (“tea squad”) – have placed cups of green tea in front of their invariably male senior colleagues, occasionally accompanied by something sweet.

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Immortal Hero review – silly vanity project made in bad faith

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The self-produced film by faith leader Ryuho Okawa is woefully misjudged and reveals the laughable reality behind Happy Science

Here’s a biopic about a world-changing faith leader, a man who has published 2,500 books – according to his website – including accounts of his seances with the ghosts of world leaders. (Available to buy on Amazon: Margaret Thatcher’s Miraculous Message – An Interview with the Iron Lady 19 Hours After Her Death.) If you’ve never heard him, Ryuho Okawa is the founder and CEO of Happy Science, a religious movement that claims to have 11 million followers worldwide; some call it a cult. Now Okawa has executive-produced a long and incredibly leaden drama about himself written by his daughter, Sayaka.

If you’re going to make a film about yourself called Immortal Hero, hiring an actor with knee-wobbling charisma should be your number-one priority. But lead Hisaaki Takeuchi plays a self-help author called Makoto Mioya – an obvious stand-in for Okawa – with a blank-faced and catatonic presence. When he’s rushed to hospital after a heart attack, Mioya is told he won’t make it through the night. But he miraculously cures himself with the power of his mind. It turns out that Mioya has been visited his entire life by celestial spirits (they look like flickering holograms from an 80s kids’ TV series). Now these spirits command him to fulfil his destiny as the chosen one by unifying world religions. So Mioya abandons the self-help racket and branches into the lucrative business of religion.

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The longest holiday: parents coping with coronavirus school closures in east Asia

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In a bid to stem spread of the virus, schools in Hong Kong, China and Japan have been shut for weeks

“It’s been a long holiday,” laughs Hong Kong insurance worker and mother, Sarah Wong.

Wong and her two daughters, Chloe and Greeta, are at a co-working space in Jordan, Kowloon. Chloe has set her desk up like home, with an iPad, her own lamp, and an aromatherapy diffuser. The girls, aged 12 and eight, are listening to online lessons from their school which has been closed because of the coronavirus.

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Coronavirus: two patients die in France as four new cases detected in England – live updates

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South Korea reports almost 500 new cases and a second person dies in the US as UK ministers hold emergency meeting

Big businesses and wealthy people are chartering private jets for “evacuation flights” out of countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak, reports the Guardian’s wealth correspondent Rupert Neate.

Adam Twidell, the chief executive of the private jet booking service PrivateFly, said the company had been inundated with requests from multinational firms arranging the mass evacuation of staff from China and south-east Asia.

Related: Wealthy turning to private jets to escape coronavirus outbreak

British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has had confirmation from the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, that she has not been tested for coronavirus. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband told broadcasters this morning that his wife suspected she might have the virus and was displaying all the symptoms.

Just spoken to Nazanin’s family about what was said in the chamber in my Urgent Question - she told them this morning categorically that she has NOT been tested for coronavirus and remains petrified about her health #FreeNazanin

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Coronavirus: Matt Hancock says shutting down UK cities may become necessary – latest updates

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USA, Australia and Thailand report first deaths from coronavirus as two frontline doctors in China die and bans are put in place on large gatherings. Follow live news

A parent and child who attended the minor injuries unit at Sevenoaks Hospital in Kent on Saturday afternoon have been advised to self-isolate at home and call NHS 111 in case they require testing for the coronavirus.

The parent grew concerned when the child, who had been at school with pupils who recently returned from Italy, developed a mild temperature.

Our Sevenoaks Minor Injury Unit (MIU) has now closed for the evening and will be reopening as normal tomorrow morning.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

You can find the details of your nearest, alternative MIU here https://t.co/TjQ9dy665d pic.twitter.com/YmotgxTFLq

A “surveillance network” of GP practices in Scotland will test patients with coughs and fevers and submit samples, even if patients have not travelled to an area affected by coronavirus, as part of the Scottish government plans.

The measure described as an “early warning” system to alert health professionals to possible spread of the virus.

“Hospitals and GP surgeries will now conduct tests on some patients with coughs, fevers or shortness of breath - regardless of whether they have travelled to a place where the virus is known to be spreading.”

“Not everyone with flu will be tested, but this is a sensible step to take as a precautionary measure to give us an early warning of community transmission.”

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