Coronavirus outbreak updates: June 21, 2020

Tokyo's Asakusa district is crowded with visitors on June 20, 2020, the first weekend since Japan lifted its final advisories on inter-prefecture travel, based on the belief that the spread of the novel coronavirus has been kept in check. (Kyodo)

TOKYO - As of 10 p.m., Sunday, June 21 (Japan time)

Japan Airlines plans to provide up to 150,000 yen ($1,400) in special allowances to some 36,000 people, or almost all employees of the carrier and its group companies, in early July, to boost their morale amid a business plunge caused by the coronavirus pandemic, company sources said Sunday.
As he prepares to kick off his final season, Takamasa Abiko, the oldest debutant in J-League history, wants to send a positive message to victims of bullying and discrimination highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.

As of 11 p.m., Saturday, June 20 (Japan time)

Japan plans to complete its nationwide optical fiber networks by March 2022 to meet the urgent need for online education, medical and other services amid the coronavirus pandemic, government officials have said.

People started traveling en masse again in Japan on Saturday, a day after the government lifted its last-remaining advisories recommending against inter-prefecture travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As it has done with just about all activities around the globe, the novel coronavirus has reshaped how we consume our entertainment. In Japan, one of those ways has been the revival, most notably among young people, of a once favorite pastime that had largely fallen on deaf ears: easy-listening radio.
Six new ambassadors to Japan have not yet handed their credentials to Emperor Naruhito due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, leaving them as ambassadors-in-waiting according to diplomatic protocol.

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