Japan

(AP) --- The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

— Japan adds 14 more countries to entry ban list.

— New Zealand prepares to ease rules on strict lockdown.

— South Korea mulls reopening schools after 26th straight day under 100 new cases.

— China reports just 3 new virus cases, no new deaths.

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TOKYO (AP) — When the Japanese government declared an emergency to curb the spread of the coronavirus earlier this month and asked people to work from home, crowds rushed to electronics stores.

So much for social distancing.

Many Japanese lack the basic tools needed to work from home. Contrary to the ultramodern image of Japan Inc. with its robots, design finesse and gadgetry galore, in many respects the country is technologically challenged.

TOKYO (Reuters) - As many as 91 crew of an Italian cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Nagasaki are infected with coronavirus, officials said on Friday, as questions persist over how they might return to their home countries.Authorities have tested about half the vessel’s crew of 623 and are racing to screen the rest. Those who test negative will be repatriated, the government said.

The vessel, the Costa Atlantica, was taken into a shipyard in Nagasaki in February for repairs and maintenance after the pandemic prevented its scheduled repairs in China.

TOKYO, Apr 23 (NNN-NHK) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5, on Thursday (today), struck Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The temblor occurred at 1:44 p.m. local time, with its epicentre at a latitude of 36.2 degrees north, and a longitude of 137.7 degrees east, and at a very shallow depth, said the JMA.

The quake logged 4, in some parts of Nagano Prefecture, on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

So far no tsunami warning has been issued.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose moderately Thursday following a rally on Wall Street and even oil prices recovering from their recent plunge to zero.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.2% to 19,370.42 in morning trading, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 06% to 1,907.92. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also added 0.6% to 5,252.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.7% to 24,066.68, while the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.2% to 2,850.80.

Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa, economists at ING, said a rise in oil prices, which have been crashing, will help Asian shares somewhat.

New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) A research scholar waiting to meet his newborn baby, a graduate worried about the job offer in Bangalore and a pregnant woman whose four-day work trip now stretches interminably are among the at least 220 Indians stranded in Japan and getting increasingly desperate to return home.

Stuck in a foreign land as COVID-19 tightens its grip on many countries, dwindling financial resources and expired medical insurances are adding to their tensions.

TOKYO, April 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Japanese medics are warning more must be done to prevent the coronavirus from overwhelming the country’s healthcare system as confirmed cases passed 10,000, despite a nationwide state of emergency.

Experts have been alarmed by a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, with hundreds detected daily.

Japan’s outbreak remains less severe than in hard-hit European countries, but its caseload is one of Asia’s highest after China and India, and is roughly on par with South Korea.

20 April 2020; AFP: A Japanese expert who has criticised the country's response to the coronavirus warned Monday that he is "pessimistic" that the postponed Olympics can be held even in 2021.

"To be honest with you I don't think the Olympics is likely to be held next year," said Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University.

Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed last month to delay the Tokyo 2020 Games until July 2021 after pressure from athletes and sports federations.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s government is boosting its new economic stimulus package by 8% to $1.1 trillion to fund cash payouts to lessen the pain from the coronavirus outbreak, a draft obtained by Reuters showed, straining its already dire public finances.

The upsized package will total 117.1 trillion yen ($1.086 trillion), with fiscal measures accounting for 48.4 trillion yen, of which around 25.6 trillion yen will be funded by an extra budget for the fiscal year that began on April 1, the draft showed.

TOKYO (AP) — Hospitals in Japan are increasingly turning away sick people as the country struggles with surging coronavirus infections and its emergency medical system collapses.

In one recent case, an ambulance carrying a man with a fever and difficulty breathing was rejected by 80 hospitals and forced to search for hours for a hospital in downtown Tokyo that would treat him. Another feverish man finally reached a hospital after paramedics unsuccessfully contacted 40 clinics.