OSAKA A soccer player from Myanmar who refused to return to his homeland in protest against the military coup there was granted refugee status in Japan on Aug. 20.
Tokyo confirmed 5,405 new COVID-19 cases on Aug. 20, the third consecutive day the daily count has topped 5,000, while a record 25,417 cases were reported across Japan as of 6 p.m.
The central government will soon start releasing information about cases of the Lambda variant of the novel coronavirus that have been identified in Japan.
The health ministry failed to share information about people suspected in close contact with an Olympic staff member who became Japan’s first confirmed case of the Lambda variant of the novel coronavirus.
The Japanese Olympic Committee has shouldered about 200 million yen ($1.82 million) in legal fees so far for its former president who is under a bribery investigation in France, sources said.