Weekly News in Japan

This week’s news confirms a State of Emergency for Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu, Fukuoka, and Tochigi. Also, the Japanese government is planning to suspend all foreigners’ entry as the coronavirus continues to spread around the world.

Japan to Suspend Entry of All Foreigners

The Japanese government plans to suspend entry to all foreigners as the coronavirus continues to spread around the world. Japan halted all new arrivals of non-nationals last month after new strains of the coronavirus that are believed to be highly transmissible were confirmed in the UK and elsewhere.

Up until this week, the government continued to allow entry by business people from 10 Asian countries, but now Japan has closed its borders to all countries during the State of Emergency. Japanese citizens can return and foreigners with resident status are allowed to reenter. These people are required to say in quarantine for 14 days and violation of this has severe results such as name disclosure and revocation of residency status.

Japan Expands State of Emergency

Japan’s government expanded its State of Emergency on Wednesday as the country battles its most serious wave of coronavirus infection yet.

Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu, Fukuoka, and Tochigi have now been added to Tokyo. Three neighboring prefectures were declared a week ago. The state of emergency for all 11 prefectures is to remain in place until February 7.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide spoke to the media on Wednesday evening to explain the decision.

“To put the current situation behind us as soon as possible, the people, the state, and local communities must be united and work toward a common goal, endure the restrictions on our lifestyle, and overcome this crisis,” he said. “The government will do whatever it can to protect the lives and livelihoods of the people.”

The restrictions include:

– Asking eating and drinking establishments to close by 8 p.m.

– Requesting that businesses use remote working to help cut the number of commuters on public transport by 70%.

– Urging people to refrain from unnecessary outings at all times, especially after 8 p.m.

FamilyMart Introduces Sauced Buns to Turn Fami-Chiki Into Burgers

Every konbini – convenience store in Japan proudly has its own brand of fried chicken, such as Lawson’s Karaage-kun, fried chicken nuggets that have been certified as space food. For FamilyMart, the signature fried chicken is Family Chicken or Fami-chiki, which has developed a wide range of flavors.

Official image from FamilyMart Japan

It may not be a completely new flavor. Still, FamilyMart is now offering consumers the opportunity to turn their Fami-chiki into a burger by selling a set of buns to be served with a fried chicken. They also come with a serving of tartar sauce pre-spread.

Official image from Family Mart Japan

Customers can just simply pick up a pair of particularly fluffy buns (88 yen) from the FamilyMart bread section and take it to the counter where you can order your favorite Fami-chiki flavor and combine the two for a “Fami-chiki burger.” Of course, you can buy and add different toppings as you see fit.

The Fami-chiki buns are currently on sale at FamilyMarts throughout Japan, beginning on January 12.

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Source: NHK, FamilyMart Japan, Grape Japan, Japan Today