Displaying Items By Tag: Japan

Honda Motor Co will temporarily cut back production in Japan due to difficulty in sourcing parts from China amid the coronavirus outbreak, Nikkei Asian Review reported on Monday citing sources at auto parts suppliers and dealers.

The cutbacks, which will last for a few days beginning early March, will see a reduction in output by a few hundred vehicles at two plants in Saitama Prefecture, the report said.

Japan's transport ministry will call on the operators of bullet train services to make their carriages more accessible for people using wheelchairs.

The ministry has decided to revise guidelines for public transportation, following discussions by a panel of officials from railway companies and advocacy groups for people with disabilities.

Japan's health ministry has compiled fresh guidelines on ways to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. They include giving local governments discretion to ask patients with mild symptoms to recover at home.

The Japanese government presented plans to deal with the coronavirus last month, but said that some policies would be changed if the number of patients increased significantly in certain regions.

The Japanese government is expected to carefully review arrangements with China for a planned visit by President Xi Jinping, including a possible postponement due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Japanese government maintains that at this moment it doesn't expect any changes in the schedule.

The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) has announced the winners of 'THE 34th JAPAN GOLD DISC AWARD.'

Japan's welfare ministry has asked local authorities to keep childcare facilities open while schools nationwide are closed amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

The request came on Thursday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan earlier in the day to effectively ask all elementary, junior high, and senior high schools as well as special-needs schools across the country to start their spring holidays on Monday. The holiday period usually ends in early April.

TOKYO — Toyota on Wednesday said that operations at its plants in Japan may be affected by supply chain issues linked to the new coronavirus outbreak in the coming weeks, as the global outbreak gathers pace.

The automaker, which operates 16 vehicle and components sites in Japan, said that it would decide on how to continue operations at its domestic plants from the week of March 9, after keeping output normal through the week of March 2.

A growing number of countries and regions have banned the entry of travelers from Japan or imposed some restrictions as the new coronavirus continues to spread.

Japan's foreign ministry says that as of Wednesday, Micronesia, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, and Comoros had restricted the entry of travelers from all countries and territories affected by the virus.

The Japanese government is studying additional measures to prop up the tourist industry and smaller businesses hit hard by the coronavirus scare.

Officials have already come up with a 140-million dollar package to fight the outbreak.

Japan's foreign minister says China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi will likely visit Japan starting on Friday. Toshimitsu Motegi suggested that Yang will discuss President Xi Jinping's visit to Japan scheduled for April.

Motegi was speaking to his ruling party colleagues on Thursday about his phone talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the previous night.

NHK has learned that the number of people in Japan who tested positive for the new coronavirus had risen to 894 as of Thursday morning.

Of the total, 175 are people who were infected in Japan or tourists from China, 705 are passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and 14 had returned from China on chartered flights.

The Japanese government is pressing the pause button on a variety of sport and cultural events to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Nearly 900 people have been confirmed infected. More than 700 of those cases emerged in a quarantined cruise ship docked near Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday, "Now is the crucial time to contain the spread of the virus at an early date."

Japan claims an International Olympic Committee member's mention of the possibility of canceling the Tokyo Olympic Games because of the coronavirus outbreak was not an official comment, and stresses it will continue preparations for the games.

IOC member Dick Pound said during an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday that the decision of whether the Games will go ahead could be put off until late May.

The Japanese government has begun making arrangements to bar foreign nationals from southern areas of South Korea from entering Japan, in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.

The measure would block the entry of foreign citizens who have stayed in Daegu City and Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province within 14 days of their arrival in Japan, unless they have special reasons.