Overview: On January 7, 2021, a state of emergency was once again declared for 11 prefectures in Japan in response to a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases. How is the lingering pandemic affecting foreigners working in Japan? To find out, we speak online with four of the people we met in past episodes: an Italian employee of a pizza brick oven manufacturer, the chairman of the Sendai Vietnamese Association, a Russian staff member of a hot-spring hotel, and a Tokyo-based drum teacher from Cameroun.