Men wearing traditional loin clothes and women dressed in white robes clapped and chanted before going into an ice water bath during a Shinto ritual at a Tokyo shrine on Sunday to purify the soul and pray for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reuters)

Meet my Japanese neighbors and see how the area is surviving without tourists. (KemushiChan ロレッタ)

Japan's health ministry says four people who arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport earlier this month were infected with a coronavirus variant different from those found in Britain and South Africa. (NHK)

Japanese weather officials say snowfall is forecast for the Pacific side of the country, as the heavy snow that hit Sea of Japan areas subsides. (NHK)

Japan’s new unified university entrance examination is set to take place for two days from Saturday, in an unprecedented situation amid the rapidly growing spread of the novel coronavirus, which has led the Tokyo metropolitan area to be put under a fresh state of emergency. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 1,219 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Monday. (NHK)

Little change was seen in the flow of commuters at major train stations in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures Friday morning as a fresh state of emergency came into effect in the metropolitan area to stop the spread of COVID-19. (Japan Times)

Japan is considering extending a state of emergency from the Tokyo metropolitan area to other regions as novel coronavirus cases increase but that could raise the risk of a double-dip recession for the world's third-largest economy. (Japan Today)

Around 80% of people in Japan believe the postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer should be canceled or rescheduled, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. (Japan Times)

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

The New Year Grand Sumo Tournament could be canceled if wrestlers continue to become infected with the novel coronavirus, the tournament's chief organizing official said Saturday after five more wrestlers tested positive for the virus. (Japan Today)

Canada’s Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe has said frontline workers and vulnerable people should be prioritized over Olympic athletes for the new coronavirus vaccine. (Japan Times)

The New Year Grand Sumo Tournament kicked off at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena on Sunday without 65 wrestlers belonging to four stables who either tested positive for the new coronavirus or were in close contact with those who did. (NHK)

The Tokyo metropolitan government on Sunday reported 1,494 new cases of the coronavirus, down 774 from Saturday. (Japan Today)

The governors of the greater Osaka area will urge Japan's national government to expand its coronavirus state of emergency to include their prefectures, as the localities set daily records for the spread of infections. (Nikkei)

Japan's public transport providers are considering limiting operations to reduce mobility under the country's new coronavirus state of emergency, which is largely voluntary with no effective punishments for those who do not comply with curfews. (Nikkei)

Japanese business leaders said Thursday support will be necessary for struggling firms under a second state of emergency over the novel coronavirus in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, while they viewed the decision as inevitable due to resurging infections. (Kyodo)

Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has declared a state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area after a record number of coronavirus cases were reported in the capital and across the country. (theguardian.com)

A Japanese credit research firm says the number of pubs and restaurants going bankrupt last year hit a record high due to the pandemic. (NHK)

Over 80,000 people have been dismissed or seen their employment contracts terminated rather than renewed in Japan for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic since it began, the labor ministry said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Athletes should be prioritized for the novel coronavirus vaccine so the beleaguered Tokyo Olympic Games can go ahead later this year, according to senior Olympics official Dick Pound. (Japan Today)

Swimming star Rikako Ikee, who was out of competition for 19 months following her leukemia diagnosis in February 2019, will no longer compete at an upcoming meet that had been earmarked as one of her comeback events, organizers said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has reported 2,392 new coronavirus infections on Friday. (NHK)

People in the greater Tokyo area expressed anxiety Thursday about how their lives and businesses will be impacted by the declaration of another state of emergency in Tokyo and neighboring areas amid record numbers of COVID-19 cases. (Japan Times)

The number of people using shinkansen and conventional train services operated by Japan Railway companies plunged 68% during the year-end and New Year’s period compared to a year earlier, to 4,879,000, marking the lowest level since comparable data was made available in 1991, six JR companies said Wednesday. (Japan Times)