With 2020 winding down, law enforcement departments nationwide ade looking to round out the year with a positive public image. (tokyoreporter.com)

NHK has learned that Japan's health ministry has ordered local governments to prepare coronavirus vaccination programs, so that medical workers can begin receiving inoculations in February. (NHK)

In Japan, coronavirus cases continue to climb --- at the end of a three-week period dubbed "crucial" to containment efforts. (NHK)

In Japan, the spike in coronavirus cases continues to reach new peaks and upend daily life for people across the country. Tokyo reported more than 600 new infections on Thursday... a record daily tally. (NHK)

NHK has learned that the number of elderly people found to be infected with the coronavirus has nearly doubled in Tokyo from the figure in August, when Japan was hit by the second wave of infection. (NHK)

Medical experts say a surge in new coronavirus cases in Tokyo is starting to overstretch its healthcare system, making it very difficult to provide care for other patients. (NHK)

Sakae Menda, the first person in Japan to have been released from death row after winning acquittal in a retrial, died Saturday of natural causes at a home for the elderly in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, his family said. He was 95. (Japan Today)

Medical experts have warned that the number of serious coronavirus cases is expected to rise further, likely overstretching Tokyo's general medical care system. (NHK)

Japan's Imperial Household Agency said Friday it has decided to cancel Emperor Naruhito's annual New Year event at the Imperial Palace due to a recent spike in the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has urged residents not to eat and drink in large groups, to keep the coronavirus out of their homes. (NHK)

Japan-based Korean writer Yu Miri has won the National Book Award, the most prestigious literary prize in the US. (NHK)

A woman died after what is believed to have been an assault along a highway in Shibuya Ward on Monday, police have revealed, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Nov. 16). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's health ministry has reported that 130 cases of coronavirus clusters and other multiple infections were confirmed across the nation in the week to November 9. (NHK)

The coronavirus continues to spread across Japan with Tokyo reporting 317 new cases on Wednesday. This marks the first time since late August that the capital's daily tally has exceeded 300. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a member of a criminal syndicate over the alleged swindle of an elderly man last year, reports TBS News (Nov. 5). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese health officials are urging people in all age groups to get influenza shots amid concerns about simultaneous outbreaks of flu and coronavirus infections. (NHK)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to launch a program that will help elderly people to receive necessary care if their close family members test positive for the coronavirus. (NHK)

The former chairman of Japan Life Co, a now-bankrupt company, was arrested Friday along with 13 others on suspicion of running a "rental owner" investment scam involving clothing, jewelry and other goods it claimed had health benefits, police said. (Japan Today)

On 11 September it was reported that a man in his 80s was released on parole from Kumamoto Prison after serving a life sentence of 61 years. (soranews24.com)

Japan's health ministry has decided to give seasonal flu shots to elderly people first, from October 1. (NHK)

Vaccinations for the novel coronavirus will be secured for all citizens by the first half of next year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced during a news conference Friday in which he put forward a series of policy packages and revisions that, together, represent a shift in the country’s comprehensive strategy to suppress the pandemic. (Japan Times)

Officials in Tokyo reported 95 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday. It's the first time the figure has dropped below 100 since July 8. (NHK)

Experts advising the Japanese government say coronavirus infections may have peaked nationwide, but that vigilance is required due to the risk of a resurgence. (NHK)

The number of confirmed new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo on Friday is 258.That's the second day in a row it's over 200. (NHK)

The number of confirmed new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo on Thursday is 339. It's over 300 for the first time in 5 days. (NHK)