Japan
- World News
North Korea launches 2 ballistic missiles off their coast
North Korea blasted 2 ballistic missiles into waters off their east coast today, says Japanese and South Korean officials. The Defence Ministry says the objects did not penetrate Japanese territory. The possible missiles are thought to have landed somewhere outside of Japan’s economic zone, says the coast guard. The BBC says it’s unclear where the missiles were intended to go…
- Thailand News
Japan plans to donate 1.3 million AstraZeneca doses to several Asian countries, 300,000 heading to Thailand
Japan is planning to donate 1.3 million AstraZeneca vaccines to several Asian countries, including 300,000 doses to Thailand. The newest donation from Japan should go out as soon as possible and includes 400,000 doses for Vietnam, 300,000 for Thailand, and 100,00 doses for Brunei. With 500,000 doses heading to Taiwan, Japan’s total donation to the island will be just shy…
- Thailand News
Japanese expats warned about terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia
Japanese citizens living in Thailand reportedly got an email warning about potential terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia. The alert advises Japanese expats in six nations to stay away from religious facilities and crowds, according to the Associated Press. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AP reporters that the warning was due to “increased risks such as of suicide bombings.” Thailand’s…
- Covid-19 News
Foreign Ministry denies it wouldn’t work with other countries to get vaccines
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson has denied claims that officials wouldn’t cooperate with other countries in the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. According to a Nation Thailand report, Tanee Sangrat insists Thailand has worked with a number of countries in accepting donations, swapping vaccines, and other areas of cooperation. “The ministry has used various channels, such as vaccine swaps, accepting donations, and…
- World News
Japan to stop using 1.63 million doses of Moderna after contaminations found
Japan is set to stop using the 1.63 million doses of Moderna after reports of contamination in multiple vials came out, says drugmaker Takeda and the health ministry today. Takeda says they had received reports from multiple vaccinations centres that “foreign substances” had been discovered inside unopened vials. The drugmaker adds that they consulted with the health ministry and decided…
- Covid-19 News
US government to donate 2.5 million vaccine doses to Thailand
According to a Thai PBS World report, the US has confirmed it will donate 2.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Thailand. Thai-American senator Tammy Duckworth made the announcement during a webinar on Thai-US relations. It’s understood the donation is part of a pledge by the administration of US President, Joe Biden, to provide vaccines for developing countries. The US…
- World News
Covid-19 crisis unfolding across several Asian nations
Just as the US and Europe are gradually emerging from the devastation brought by Covid-19, the pandemic is wreaking havoc across Asia. Earlier this week, Indonesia overtook India as the epicentre of the virus, reporting over 54,000 new infections and 991 deaths in a single day. Just a month ago, daily new infections were averaging 8,000. Indonesian officials are concerned…
- Covid-19 News
1 million AstraZeneca vaccines from Japan for elderly in Bangkok
Japan recently donated just over 1 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand in hopes of battling the surging Covid-19 outbreaks hammering the country, and today the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announce plans to give those vaccines to the elderly in Bangkok. The 1.05 million vaccines that arrived today from Japan will be earmarked for senior citizens, both Thai nationals and…
- Covid-19 News
AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to be donated to Thailand from Japan
As Thailand’s vaccine supply runs short due to production delays, the Japanese government has offered to donate doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, according to Thailand’s health minister Anutin Charnvirakul. An agreement is set to be signed this week and vaccine doses would be delivered next month. Anutin only gave a brief statement and did not say how many doses…
- Covid-19 News
Southeast Asia: The new covid-19 epicentre
Some western countries appear to have turned the tide against Covid-19 (China and India have also administered between 640 million and 208 million doses, respectively). The middle East is showing promise in vaccinating its citizens. But health experts predict some countries could be months or even weeks from being able to come out on the other side of their current…
- World News
State of emergency extended in Japan
A month before the Olympic Games begin, a state of emergency has been extended in 9 Japanese prefectures, including Tokyo. The extended decree is in force until June 20 and covers Hokkaido, Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Okinawa. In the prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Gifu, and Mie, strict non-emergency restrictions are in force and have…
- World News
Japan adds Thailand to travel ban list, some exceptions
Japan has barred the entry of foreigners who are travelling from Thailand and 6 other countries in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19, particularly the more infectious variant first detected in India. The restrictions, adding to Japan’s long list of banned arrivals, go into effect today. Foreigners who have been to Thailand,Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the Seychelles, Saint Lucia, East…
- Covid-19 News
Deja Vu: Cruise ship in Japan finds Covid-19 infection
In an unfortunate case of life coming full circle, Covid-19 has infected a passenger aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Japan. One infamous early outbreak of what at the time was a new and mysterious virus we hoped wouldn’t manage to spread worldwide was the case of Carnival Cruise Line’s Diamond Princess cruise ship. 3,700 people were quarantined…
- Covid-19 News
UPDATE: Covid-19 around the world
The Covid-19 situation around the world is seeing some nations attempt to return to a new normal as vaccines are rolled out, but some countries, notably India, are seeing the worst of the virus. As India’s death toll reached over 200,000 yesterday, hospitals are running out of oxygen and basic medical equipment. A Covid virus variant has hit the South…
- World News
Balding, once a Caucasian problem, grows in Asian men
While around half of Caucasian men will experience hair loss by middle age, Asian men had largely escaped balding, until now. In Korea only 14% of men experience hair loss, in China, 13% of 30-something men will lose hair, and Japanese men start losing their hair 10 years later than Europeans. But these figures are changing, not due to genetics,…
- Covid-19 News
Japan poised for Covid-19 state of emergency declaration
Japan was prepared to declare a state of emergency in four regions including Tokyo today, after 860 new Covid-19 infections yesterday. These are the highest numbers seen since January when the previous state of emergency went into effect. Infection numbers are rising again after restrictions were lifted last month. The dire situation in Japan of the Covid-19 fourth wave casts…
- Tourism News
Australia sets travel bubble with New Zealand, Asian countries by August
Travel bubbles for those travelling from Australia to destinations in Asia and the Pacific region could be imposed by August. The country has already agreed on the Trans-Tasman travel bubble with New Zealand, set to start in a few weeks. Singapore is in the cards to be set up next while Australian authorities are looking into other potential bilateral agreements…
- Covid-19 News
Japanese Ambassador to Thailand infected with Covid-19
Among the new infections of Covid-19 reported yesterday in Thailand was Kazuya Nashida, the Japanese Ambassador to Thailand. The Japanese Foreign Ministry released a brief statement yesterday confirming the Ambassador has contracted the Coronavirus in Bangkok. Mr. Nashida is currently receiving treatment at an unnamed hospital in Bangkok, and the information provided indicates that the ambassador is showing signs of…
- World News
Japan kicks off Olympic torch relay, Thailand launches “Flag of Nation” relay
Japan has officially kicked off its countdown to the postponed 2020 Olympic Games with a torch-lighting ceremony in the prefecture of Fukushima yesterday. The lighting of the torch comes 10 years after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused the meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors in the prefecture. The Japanese women’s football team, winners of the 2011 World Cup, started the…
- Covid-19 News
Japan asks China to stop anal Covid-19 tests after travellers report “psychological distress”
After complaints that China’s anal swab Covid-19 test caused “psychological distress,” Japan has asked China to stop using the new, much more invasive method of testing on Japanese citizens entering the country. For the anal test, reportedly done on some travellers entering China from overseas, a 3 to 5 centimetre long cotton swab is inserted into the anus and gently…
- Thailand News
Thai PM walkout, easing of covid restrictions | February 19
Thailand News Today Police have arrested a man in Samut Prakan, southeast of central Bangkok, for allegedly possessing war weapons and attempting to sell assault rifles online through Instagram. The “dewaffen” Instagram page for “Oz John Woo” has an eclectic combination of cat photos and gun photos. The bio says “military support/ small arms import/export service. Life is limited, please…
- Thailand News
Thailand tourism officials want to attract Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency holders
Got Bitcoin? You may soon be able to spend it in Thailand. The country’s tourism officials want to draw in cryptocurrency holders and plan to first target tourists from Japan, the one of the world’s top holders of Bitcoin. The idea is to draw in more high spending tourists, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn. With the lack…
- World News
15,000+ Covid-19 patients in Japan on waiting list for hospitals and health care accommodations
Thousands of people in Japan who are infected with Covid-19 are on the waiting list for hospitals or other accommodations for those with the virus due to the rising number of cases. Kyoto News conducted a survey and reports at least 15,058 are on the waiting list for proper treatment and accommodation. The number of new infections in Japan has…
- Covid-19 News
Japan suspends entry for non-resident foreigners amidst new Covid variant
Japan is suspending nonresident foreign nationals from entering the country starting tomorrow through late January as a precaution to stop the spread of a new and possibly more transmissible strain of the Covid-19 virus. Japanese citizens and foreign residents alike will also have to submit negative virus test results within 72 hours of departing to Japan from countries and territories…
- World News
Christmas across Asia: How Thailand’s neighbours celebrate
Those of us living in Thailand (and those who holiday here in more “normal” times), are familiar with what Christmas looks like in the Land of Smiles. But what about other Asian countries? Here’s a round-up of what the festive season looks like for some of our neighbours. Indonesia Despite being a primarily Muslim nation, Christmas is celebrated by many…
- Covid-19 News
Tokyo Olympics may cost almost US$2 billion more due to Covid delay
The Tokyo Olympics may cost almost US$2 billion more than its original budget of US$13 billion, after it has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Olympic organisers say they will decide on the increased budget for the Games after communicating with Japan’s government and Tokyo. The Games were postponed by 1 year after Covid-19 spread worldwide, with its opening…
- Thailand News
Ex-Thai Airways official gets fat prison sentence for failing to pay excess baggage fees
You’ll never complain about excess baggage charges after reading this… The former chairperson for Thai Airways has been sentenced to 2 years in jail because he didn’t pay for 300 kilograms of excess baggage back in 2009. The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases says Wallop Bhukkanasut abused his authority as chairperson by ordering airline staff to change…
- World News
15 Asia-Pacific countries form the world’s largest trade bloc, the great RCEP reset
After 8 gruelling years of negotiation, 15 countries have signed onto the largest free trade bloc in history. In a joint statement, the leaders of the countries, signatories of the trade deal, say RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) will form a crucial part of economic recovery once the pandemic is over. The deal excludes the US, which withdrew from a…
- Covid-19 News
Play 18 holes during your quarantine in Thailand – new STV proposal
Quarantine, whilst wandering around a golf course, maintaining social distancing of course. That’s the latest STV proposal tabled for consideration by the CCSA to expand the current Special Tourist Visa and quarantine restrictions for golf tourists who may visit Thailand and do their quarantine in a secure golf course, whilst enjoying a few rounds at the same time. The proposal…
- Covid-19 News
Travellers from Thailand positive for Covid-19 in new saliva test at Japan airport
Over the past few weeks, 15 people who travelled to Japan from Thailand tested positive for Covid-19 in a new preliminary screening method, according to Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, or DDC. Laboratory testing was done to confirm the cases. Half of the cases came back negative in laboratory testing while 2 people tested positive in laboratory tests and 5…
