Joe Tomei here with another update from our intrepid JET Prefectural Advisors, Bilal Khan & Lily McDermott

Hello Kumamoto,

Here are the updates for today:

End of request to avoid unnecessary and non-urgent outings Kumamoto Prefecture has lowered its classification from “an area in which infections are increasing” (感染拡大地域, kansen kakudai chiiki) to “an area in which infections have been confirmed” (感染確認地域, kansen kakunin chiiki).

As of the governor’s press conference yesterday (12 May), the prefecture is no longer requesting residents to avoid all unnecessary and non-urgent outings. However, residents are still being asked to avoid the 3 Cs and to continue avoid moving across prefectural boundaries for the time being. https://this.kiji.is/632855771807056993?c=92619697908483575

National expert advisory committee tomorrow, government considering partial end to state of emergency The next meeting of the government’s coronavirus response expert committee is scheduled for tomorrow. The advisory committee is expected to provide advice to the government on whether to lift the state of emergency early, as well as provide guidelines about what conditions would need to be met for the state of emergency to be lifted along with the conditions which would prompt the re-declaration of a state of emergency. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200513/k10012427911000.html?utm_int=nsearch_contents_search-items_002

The national government is currently considering lifting the state of emergency for all of the 34 prefectures which have a “limited number of new cases” (which includes Kumamoto). The government is also considering lifting the state of emergency for some of the prefectures which are currently classified as “special alert” prefectures (特定警戒都道府県, tokutei keikai todо̄fuken) but nevertheless have recently had few confirmed instances of new infections, such as Ibaraki, Gifu, Fukuoka and Aichi prefectures. Even with a partial lifting, Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Hokkaido are expected to remain under the state of emergency. The national government is expected to make this decision tomorrow after the meeting of the government’s expert committee.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200513/k10012427921000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_004

Prefectural BOE announces intention to re-open schools as early as 18 May Assuming the state of emergency is lifted for Kumamoto Prefecture (the national government will make this decision tomorrow, 14 May), the Prefectural BOE may partially re-open as soon as 18 May. If the state of emergency is lifted, schools will return to their normal schedules on 1 June.
https://this.kiji.is/632837422253294689?c=92619697908483575

Schedule for each municipality to send out Special Fixed Benefits application forms Many municipalities, including Kumamoto City, have begun sending out application forms for the 100,000 yen Special Fixed Benefit. The Kumamoto Support Center for Foreign Residents released a chart which includes the planned postal date, dates for the opening of online applications, and the application period (deadline to apply for benefit), as well as the estimated time to receive the benefit. Please confirm your municipality’s timeline here: http://www.kuma-koku.jp/common/UploadFileOutput.ashx?c_id=3&id=156&sub_id=27&flid=474

Health ministry approves antigen test The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has approved the use of antigen test kits. The test kits return results in as little as 30 minutes, but have lower sensitivity. As result, positive antigen test results will be treated as confirmed cases, while people who test negative with an antigen test will have to undergo a follow-up PCR test to confirm the negative result. Read more: English - https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200513_05/ Japanese - https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200513/k10012427581000.html?utm_int=nsearch_contents_search-items_001