Australia's softball side have opened the Tokyo Olympics with a crushing 8-1 loss to Japan in Fukushima, where the mercy rule was invoked. (ESPN)

A lack of parental knowledge about necessary paperwork is the main reason why children of foreign residents in Japan become stateless, a government survey showed Tuesday, amid an increase in such children without nationality. (Japan Times)

What began as a trickle of infections among athletes and staff has turned into a steady stream just days before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games, with COVID-19 threatening to derail the competition schedule and casting doubt on the ability of organizers to handle the situation if it continues to worsen. (Japan Times)

When Tokyo last hosted the Olympics, in 1964, the unveiling of a bullet train capable of the improbable speed of 210 kilometers an hour heralded the dawn of a high-tech era in Japan. (taipeitimes.com)

The Tokyo District Court has sentenced a 72-year-old man to nine years in prison for killing a 28-year-old female acquaintance by causing her to ingest lethal amounts of stimulant drugs. (Japan Today)

Tokyo’s delayed Olympics is flipping conventional wisdom on its head, with Japan’s stay-at-home stocks expected to emerge as winners rather than once-favored advertisers, real-estate firms and travel operators. (Japan Times)

Ozeki champion Terunofuji has been promoted to sumo's highest rank of yokozuna. (NHK)

Having to stay at home during the Covid pandemic has been tough on millions of people around the world. (BBC News)

Welcome to Jimbocho. This neighborhood has got a lot of history. It's also got a lot of cafes. (ONLY in JAPAN * GO)

Since September last year, Argentina-based human rights lawyer Daniela Bertone has spent many nights breastfeeding her year-old toddler while working on her master’s degree in peace studies at Japan’s International Christian University. (South China Morning Post)

Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada said Monday he will leave the creative team for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics after admitting that he bullied children with disabilities many years ago. (Japan Times)

Video posted online shows three members of the public ignoring social distancing rules to take photos with squad (South China Morning Post)

Concerns were raised about the smell and the quality of water of the Tokyo Bay, the outdoor swimming venue for the Olympics' triathlon, just days before the games are set to begin. (Ruptly)

A female gymnast from the United States has tested positive for coronavirus, an official in the city where the team has been staying to train said on Monday. (devdiscourse.com)

The unusual modular cardboard beds at the Tokyo Olympic Village have sparked speculations that they were designed to be ‘anti-sex’ as a coronavirus precaution. (South China Morning Post)

The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has confirmed that two athletes who tested positive for the coronavirus are players of South Africa's men's soccer team staying at the Athletes' Village. (NHK)

A Japanese court has handed down prison sentences to two US citizens who helped former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan. (NHK)

A giant puppet named Mocco has arrived in Tokyo carrying messages from the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan. (NHK)

Concerns were raised about the smell and the quality of water of the Tokyo Bay, the outdoor swimming venue for the Olympics' triathlon, just days before the games are set to begin. (Ruptly)

Police arrested a university student from Uzbekistan on Sunday on suspicion of raping a Japanese woman while the two were working part time at the National Stadium for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. (Japan Today)

The rainy season has ended across Japan, pushing up the temperature in the city of Sapporo in the country's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido to record levels. (NHK)

Tokyo 2020 sponsor Toyota will not run Olympics-related TV commercials amid lacklustre public support for the Olympics, with two-thirds of Japanese doubting organisers can keep the Games safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a local media poll. (indianexpress.com)

The approval rating for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet has fallen to 35.9 percent, the lowest level since he took office last year, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday, adding to signs of public discontent with the government's determination to hold the Tokyo Olympics despite the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Today)

Search teams have found two more bodies at the site of massive mudslides that devastated the spa resort city of Atami, southwest of Tokyo. (NHK)

As Japan's Olympic Games draw ever closer, protests against the tournament are intensifying. (On Demand News)