The clock is winding down in Japan on the emergency declaration for Tokyo, Osaka and eight other prefectures. (NHK)

OSAKA (TR) – The female manager of a karaoke parlor in Osaka City’s Kita Ward was found inside the premises on Monday. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's state-run mass coronavirus vaccination centers plan to start inoculating people aged under 65 as early as Thursday in an expanded drive to fill in vacant slots, a government source said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Japanese financial authorities have opened an office in central Tokyo with an English-speaking team to help foreign funds and others start business in the country. (NHK)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 47-year-old man who is suspected of stealing the wallets belonging to women in the Kabukicho red-light district, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

The latest world rankings show that Japanese tennis stars Osaka Naomi and Nishikori Kei have secured places for the Tokyo Olympics. (NHK)

An NHK opinion poll shows that 45 percent of respondents do not support Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide's Cabinet. That's the highest disapproval rating since he took office last September. (NHK)

Two American men accused of helping former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan to Lebanon have pleaded guilty on the opening day of their trial in Tokyo. (NHK)

WAKAYAMA (TR) – When the Supreme Court in 2009 handed Masumi Hayashi the death penalty for murdering four persons at a festival with arsenic-laced curry, many might have thought that the ugly incident had been safely jettisoned into the past. (tokyoreporter.com)

CORNWALL, U.K. -- U.S. President Joe Biden gave his support on Saturday to Japan's efforts to carry out a safe Summer Olympics as outlined by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit here. (Nikkei)

The accuracy of coronavirus figures released by the Japanese government has been called into question after the health ministry adopted new criteria for its calculations at the beginning of June. (asiaone.com)

Ryuji Urabe is 93 years old but he is still driving. A former taxi driver in Tokyo, Urabe became a YouTube sensation after his grandson started sharing videos of him playing racing games online. (South China Morning Post)

Japan is considering implementing less strict coronavirus restrictions in areas including Tokyo and Osaka on June 21 when the state of emergency is lifted, a government official said Friday, as the country seeks to contain the health crisis with less than 50 days to go before the start of the Tokyo Olympics. (Japan Times)

Japanese Nobel laureate Negishi Ei-ichi has died at the age of 85. He was awarded the 2010 Chemistry Prize for developing a new method to synthesize organic compounds. (NHK)

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee said Friday it has sold tickets for 42 percent of the venues' capacity and expects to see up to about 225,000 spectators per day in the Japanese capital if all ticket holders attend. (Kyodo)

TOKYO (TR) – A 22-year-old man who fell to his death from a restaurant window in Shibuya Ward last month had marijuana in his system, police have revealed. (tokyoreporter.com)

The Japanese government is now aiming to give coronavirus vaccines to anyone who wants them by October or November. (NHK)

Japan widened its scope to allow elderly people nationwide to book coronavirus vaccinations at state-run mass vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka, the government said Thursday. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government has decided to lift anti-virus restrictions in three prefectures this week because the COVID situation is improving there. (NHK)

Like many of us, Emma has had her travel plans derailed by coronavirus. But after months of delay, the white rhino has arrived in Japan and is looking for love. (timesofmalta.com)

AICHI (TR) – Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a 39-year-old ma who is suspected of stealing recorders from a middle school in Nagoya, reports Nikkan Sports (tokyoreporter.com)

When Olympics organisers shifted the marathon event from Tokyo to Sapporo, they did so because of concerns about the intense summer heat in the capital. (Japan Times)

Where is the best location in Tokyo to stay, to visit, to eat? Many say it’s Shinjuku. (ONLY in JAPAN * GO)

The mercury rose above 35 degrees Celsius for the first time in Japan this year on Wednesday as temperatures surged across wide areas of the country. (NHK)

Japan's trade ministry colluded with Toshiba Corp's (6502.T) management to unduly influence a key shareholder vote last year, an independent probe found, undermining Tokyo's efforts to improve corporate governance and win over foreign investors. (Reuters)