A new law requiring companies to try to keep their workers on the payroll until age 70 takes effect on Thursday in Japan. (NHK)

Health care workers in Tokyo have started receiving their second shots of a coronavirus vaccine, about three weeks after receiving their first shots. (NHK)

People in Japan who received Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine seem to have suffered anaphylaxis at a higher rate than in the United States and Europe, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Japan will maintain tight controls on the entry of foreign nationals following the extension of a state of emergency covering Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures to curb COVID-19, just weeks before preparations for the Olympics begin in earnest. (Nikkei)

The Japanese government has extended a state of emergency imposed to contain the coronavirus for two more weeks in Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa. (NHK)

Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus vaccination says vaccines for the elderly will likely be delivered to all municipalities in the country by the end of June. (NHK)

Japan is considering introducing waiting lists for COVID-19 vaccinations to avoid waste, the minister in charge of inoculation effort has said, as the country prepares to expand the program's scope. (Japan Times)

Japan has received its second shipment of the coronavirus vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer. (NHK)

Japan plans to start inoculating elderly people only after the coronavirus vaccinations for frontline health workers have been administered, possibly delaying the initially anticipated start date for seniors in April, a senior government official said Monday. (Kyodok)

Japanese localities have begun a scramble to secure medical personal to carry out a mass vaccination campaign against the coronavirus slated to start next week, with estimates predicting that 11,000 physicians are needed per day nationwide. (Nikkei)

Iza Kavedzija calls it an “attitude of gratitude.” That’s what struck the anthropology and aging expert after she spent years interviewing the elderly and super-elderly in the Japanese city of Osaka, and trying to understand why they seemed so happy. (marketwatch.com)

There is a growing view within the Japanese government that a state of emergency covering 11 prefectures may have to continue beyond the planned end date in some areas. (NHK)

Miyakojima in Okinawa Prefecture is facing a medical crisis due to a spike in coronavirus infections. (NHK)

A panel of experts has warned that the coronavirus situation in Tokyo is still extremely serious, despite a recent drop in the weekly average of new cases. (NHK)

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has reiterated the IOC's commitment to the successful and safe delivery of the Tokyo Games this summer. (NHK)

Japanese Regulatory Reform Minister Kono Taro says vaccination against the coronavirus for senior citizens will start in Japan on April 1 at the earliest. (NHK)

Automakers in Japan, where almost 30% of the population is 65 or older, are taking the lead on adapting cars so the nation's legions of elderly drivers can feel more confident -- and be safer -- behind the wheel. (nwaonline.com)

Japanese sumo wrestler Kotokantetsu was uneasy. Coronavirus was raging through Tokyo and ripping through the sumo wrestling fraternity, whose lives are controlled by trainers and handlers. (washingtonpost.com)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says about 20 percent of people confirmed infected with the new coronavirus in recent months were asymptomatic when they tested positive. (NHK)

The chief of Japan's COVID-19 vaccination program on Wednesday denied media reports that vaccinations for the general public may start in May, as the country battles a third wave that has brought record numbers of infections and serious cases. (Japan Times)

Japan's government plans to hold the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year without making vaccination against coronavirus a condition of participation. (7news)

Japan's health authorities reported another 5,759 new cases of coronavirus across the country on Sunday. A record 972 people are in serious condition. (NHK)

Tochigi Prefectural Police have arrested an American woman over the alleged fatal assault at her residence in Nikko City, reports NHK. (tokyoreporter.com)

Police in Tokyo have arrested two men on suspicion of stealing a wallet from a sleeping passenger on a subway train. (Japan Today)

The Inagawa-kai criminal syndicate is cancelling various events typically held around the New Year’s holiday due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, police have revealed, reports the Asahi Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)