Gay Japan

From Channel News Asia TOKYO: Tourists will be able to visit Japan from next week on package tours without a guide, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday (Aug 31), as the country moves to ease strict COVID-19 controls. From Sep 7, Japan will also raise its daily cap on the number of people allowed to enter the country from 20,000 to 50,000, Kishida told reporters. Japan has kept strict border restrictions in place longer than many other major economies, and only in June began allowing tourists to visit on the condition they came in tour groups accompanied by guides. "As international exchange becomes more active worldwide, Japan will join this…

From Channel News Asia VANCOUVER, Canada: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s initial easing of COVID-19 restrictions was dramatically reversed following the arrival of Omicron in late November 2021. He most notably shut down the Japanese border – bucking the trend of reopening in East Asia and causing consternation abroad. Kishida has responded cautiously to domestic and foreign pressure to reopen Japan’s borders since April. Japan reopened its borders to holders of long-term visitor, business or student visas on Jun 1, as well as to tourists on authorised package tours. Independent tourists are not yet granted entry, although they can be expected to be all…

From Channel News Asia TOKYO: Japan Airlines Co Ltd and ANA Holdings Inc cancelled all flights to and from Europe on Thursday (Mar 3) and cancelled or rerouted flights on Friday as well, citing safety concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ANA also started to cancel some flights due to run on Saturday. The airlines, which normally use Russian airspace for their Europe flights, join a growing number of carriers that have cancelled or rerouted flights between Europe and north Asia in the wake of the crisis. "We are continuously monitoring the situation, but given the present situation in Ukraine and the different risks, we have decided to cance…

There is already a thread on mens figure skaters, but I thought some in Thailand might like to know that for the next three months True Channel 690 has the Japanese semi-professional volleyball league matches on Saturdays and Sundays. I only discovered this on Saturday and really enjoyed the matches - and not only because some of the boys are very attractive. I particularly liked this guy from the Oita team. On court he looks like he'd be around 1.68m or so. But his teammates are so tall he is actually 1.75m! Very cute 23 yo named Yamada Kota. This is a short video on him from the club's website.

From Channel News Asia TOKYO: Japan on Thursday (Dec 2) reversed a ban on inbound flight reservations, revealing confusion between government agencies and the public over Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's strategy to keep out the Omicron coronavirus variant. On Monday, Japan's aviation bureau told airlines not to accept new reservations for December because of Omicron, two cases of which have been found in the country, but the abrupt announcement provoked worries among those aiming to return for year-end holidays. Kishida said the move caused confusion, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno added that the prime minister had asked the transport ministry,…

From Channel News Asia TOKYO: In a major shift for a country long closed to immigrants, Japan is looking to allow foreigners in certain blue-collar jobs to stay indefinitely starting as early as the 2022 fiscal year, a justice ministry official said on Thursday (Nov 18). Under a law that took effect in 2019, a category of "specified skilled workers" in 14 sectors such as farming, construction and sanitation have been allowed to stay for up to five years, but without their family members. The government had been looking to ease those restrictions, which had been cited by companies as among reasons that they were hesitant to hire such help. If the revisi…

From Channel News Asia TOKYO: Tokyo will lift curbs on bar and restaurant opening hours as COVID-19 cases in the Japanese capital hit their lowest level this year, officials said on Thursday (Oct 21). It is the latest softening of coronavirus restrictions in Japan, where cases have been in free fall for weeks, which experts ascribe to a rapid increase in the vaccination rate. Nationwide, new infections have plunged from record highs of more than 25,800 in August to fewer than 400 in recent days. And Tokyo, a city of 14 million people, has reported an average of 47 daily cases over the past week - lows not seen since June 2020. The country has neve…

From Channel News Asia TOKYO: Japan can now give defence equipment and technology to Vietnam under an agreement signed on Saturday (Sep 11), as the two countries step up their military cooperation amid worries about China's growing military influence. Japan's Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said the deal elevates their defence partnership “to a new level” and that Japan and Vietnam plan to deepen defence ties through multinational joint exercises and other means. Details about the transfer of specific equipment, including naval vessels, will be worked out in subsequent talks, the ministry said. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/japan-vietnam-sign-defence-tr…

From Channel News Asia / Reuters TOKYO: Japan will make additional donations of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan and other Asian neighbours this week, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday (Jul 13). Japan will ship out 1 million doses each to Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam on Thursday as part of bilateral deals with those governments, Motegi told reporters. An additional 11 million doses donated through the COVAX sharing scheme will be sent this month to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as well as various Pacific Island states, he said. This is the third batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines Japan has donat…

It is about time:-) And hopefully I can get there some time this year:-(