Government of Japan
Constitutional monarchy which governs Japan
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| August 2023 | Kyodo News reported that Japan spent ¥68.5 trillion (US$471 billion) in alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation. |
| May 8 2023 | Japanese government changed COVID-19 classification from category 2 to category 5 under the Infectious Disease Control Law, reducing strict infection control measures. |
| May 7 2023 | As of the last official daily press release, Japan reported 33,802,739 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 74,669 total deaths. |
| December 31 2022 | At the conclusion of 2022, Japan recorded 29,212,535 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 57,262 total deaths. |
| October 11 2022 | Japan officially reopened its borders to non-citizens, ending the strict travel restrictions that had been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| March 1 2022 | Japan begins to ease COVID-19 border restrictions, allowing more foreign travelers to enter the country. |
| December 31 2021 | By the end of 2021, Japan's cumulative COVID-19 cases had risen to 1,733,725 with 18,393 total deaths. |
| November 2021 | Kofu Shingen Takeda Festival postponed from early April to November |
| August 8 2021 | Conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics, with a total of 71 COVID-19 cases linked to the event since its start. |
| July 23 2021 | Official start of the Tokyo Olympics, running until 8 August 2021. |
| July 17 2021 | Tokyo Olympics begin, with COVID-19 cases being tracked from this date. |
| June 2021 | Delta variant numbers begin rapidly rising, becoming increasingly prevalent in Japan. |
| May 30 2021 | Tohoku Kizuna Traditional Festival rescheduled to July 22-23, originally planned for May 30-31 |
| April 3 2021 | The Tōhoku region reached a total of 12,076 reported COVID-19 cases, with Miyagi Prefecture accounting for 6,423 cases, including 4,196 cases in the city of Sendai. |
| April 1 2021 | Remote work subsidy became available to eligible municipalities at the start of the fiscal year. |
| March 2021 | Alpha variant becomes dominant in Japan around mid-March, superseding previous variants. |
| February 17 2021 | COVID-19 vaccination in Japan began, over a month after the first anniversary of the pandemic in the country. |
| January 7 2021 | Prime Minister Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three prefectures (Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa), effective from January 8 to February 7. |
| 2020 | Face masks sold out across Japan, with new stocks quickly depleted, and the healthcare system faced increased pressure from medical checkup demands. |
| 2020 | Nintendo issued an apology for delayed Nintendo Switch hardware shipments due to manufacturing disruptions in China caused by the coronavirus outbreak. |
| December 31 2020 | At the end of 2020, Japan reported 230,304 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 3,414 total deaths. |
| September 2020 | By September, 34 ramen restaurant chains have filed for bankruptcy, highlighting the severe economic impact of the pandemic on the restaurant industry, especially for establishments with close seating arrangements. |
| September 2020 | Japanese central government announced a plan to encourage remote work in rural areas, offering a ¥15 billion (US$142 million) subsidy to municipalities outside the Greater Tokyo Area. |
| July 2020 | Japan experiences a reversal in the decade-long suicide rate decline, with suicide numbers increasing significantly, particularly affecting women during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| July 16 2020 | World Health Organization (WHO) posted a recommendation to 'Avoid the Three Cs', adopting language very similar to the Japanese government's approach. |
| July 10 2020 | Iwate Prefecture in the Tōhoku region reported no COVID-19 cases, remaining unaffected by earlier pandemic waves. |
| July 2 2020 | Kagoshima City confirmed a cluster of nine new COVID-19 cases, and Fukuoka Prefecture confirmed four additional cases. |
| June 2020 | B.1.1.214 variant takes over as the dominant strain in Japan, lasting until mid-February of the following year. |
| May 2020 | Multiple major festivals and cultural events canceled across Japan, including Sapporo Yosakoi Soran Festival, Hirosaki cherry blossom festival, and numerous regional festivals in Aomori, Sendai, Fukushima, and other prefectures |
| May 2020 | Production of live-action and animated series was significantly scaled back to prevent COVID-19 spread. Multiple series across numerous channels were delayed, and television channels began broadcasting reruns. |
| May 30 2020 | Japan Tree-planting Festival converted to an online event, originally scheduled as an in-person event in Shimane Prefecture |
| May 25 2020 | State of emergency lifted across all prefectures in Japan. |
| May 24 2020 | Fukuoka Prefecture reported a total of four confirmed COVID-19 cases, including one re-positive case in Fukuoka City and three cases in Kitakyushu City. |
| May 21 2020 | The state of emergency was lifted in three Kansai prefectures after they reported an infection rate below 0.5 per 100,000 people, leaving only five of 47 prefectures under emergency measures. |
| May 15 2020 | Sanja Matsuri Festival in Tokyo postponed from its original scheduled dates of 15-17 May, rescheduled to October |
| May 14 2020 | The government lifted the state of emergency in most prefectures, with eight high-risk prefectures including Tokyo and Kyoto remaining under restrictions. |
| May 4 2020 | The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare launched a comprehensive 'new lifestyle' program aimed at modifying citizen behavior to reduce COVID-19 transmission, including recommendations for mask-wearing, social distancing, and altered social interactions in public spaces. |
| April 2020 | Restaurants begin experiencing significant economic challenges, with food service businesses becoming vulnerable to bankruptcy due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. |
| April 16 2020 | State of emergency declaration extended to the entire country for an indefinite period. |
| April 16 2020 | Prime Minister Abe expanded the state of emergency declaration to include all prefectures in Japan. |
| April 13 2020 | Japanese government made a decision to expand COVID-19 testing after previous limitations. |
| April 10 2020 | Tokyo Governor Koike announced closure requests for six business categories and limited restaurant operating hours, with government subsidies for compliant businesses. |
| April 7 2020 | Abe proclaimed a one-month state of emergency for Tokyo and six prefectures: Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka. |
| April 3 2020 | Japan implemented a travel ban adding 49 new countries to its restricted list, bringing the total country ban to 73. |
| April 1 2020 | Medical experts requested the government to secure more hospital beds and transfer patients with mild or no symptoms to outside housing facilities, allowing focused treatment for severely ill patients. |
| March 2020 | Some amusement parks like Huis Ten Bosch and Legoland Japan Resort partially reopened. |
| March 2020 | Japanese animated films and TV shows began announcing changes and postponing broadcasts due to production problems caused by staff shortages. |
| March 2020 | Testing remained restricted to large hospitals, with only 52,000 tests performed, which was approximately 16% of South Korea's testing volume. |
| March 2020 | Decision announced to postpone the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics by one year, marking the first postponement in modern Olympic history. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.