Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that the state and building material makers are liable for health damage suffered by construction workers who developed lung diseases caused by asbestos. (NHK)

Ozeki Terunofuji quickly overpowered sekiwake Takanosho on Saturday to finish the first week of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. (Kyodo)

Some theaters and theme parks in Tokyo have begun to open conditionally in the past week while taking thorough measures to prevent coronavirus infections while under the government’s extended third state of emergency over the pandemic. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government has decided to add Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures to a state of emergency from Sunday due to rising coronavirus cases. (NHK)

TOKYO - At his factory in Tokyo, Shigeki Kato has a grim strategy to deal with rising costs that threaten profit margins: grin and bear it. (Reuters)

A Japanese journalist who was detained in Myanmar has been released and returned to Japan. (NHK)

A union of hospital doctors in Japan has urged the government to cancel this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics due to the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan plunged 35.8% from a year before to 477 in April, the smallest figure for the month in the past 50 years, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Thursday. (Japan Times)

A Japanese freelance journalist in Myanmar who was jailed and charged with spreading false news or information that could cause public unrest will be freed by the country’s ruling junta as a gesture of friendship with Japan, a state television report said Thursday. (hindustantimes.com)

Two doctors indicted last year over the consensual killing of a terminally ill woman in Kyoto were served with fresh arrest warrants Wednesday for allegedly murdering a man, the father of one of them, police said. (Japan Today)

The International Olympic Committee has indicated that most athletes at the Tokyo Games will get vaccinated. (NHK)

Last year, Japan was ranked the second most popular destination to move to, so it’s no surprise that the country also made the list in another recent worldwide survey on where people would most like to relocate for work. (timeout.com)

Japan will from Friday indefinitely bar foreign nationals with residence status from re-entering the country if they have stayed in India, Nepal or Pakistan within 14 days prior to their return, the government said on Wednesday. (todayonline.com)

Japan's government is facing growing criticism for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNA)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 1,010 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday. That's up 419 from a week earlier. (NHK)

A man whose corpse was found in a vehicle in Kobe City’s Kita Ward last week died due to suffocation, police have revealed, reports NHK (May 7). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan is stepping up efforts to contain a rise in coronavirus infections by expanding and extending its third state of emergency of the pandemic. (NHK)

Technical problems have derailed Japan's coronavirus vaccination booking system, compounding frustration over the government's handling of new outbreaks of infections and an inoculation drive critics say is woefully slow. (canberratimes.com.au)

A man who turned himself in to police in Tokyo for the alleged possession of cannabis livestreamed as the whole process unfolded via video-sharing platform YouTube, investigative sources said. (Japan Today)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 38-year-old man who is suspected of drugging and sexually abusing several boys in the town of Mizuho, reports Kyodo News. (tokyoreporter.com)

The owner of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Building faces a shareholder resolution from Hong Kong hedge fund LIM Advisors calling for an end to giving board seats to former executives at the TSE and its parent, a practice LIM says results in offering the bourse below-market rent. (Nikkei)

The United States' track and field team has cancelled its pre-Olympics training camp in Japan out of concerns for safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic, local authorities announced on Wednesday, raising more questions about the holding of the Games. (Reuters)

With investors around the world fueling another crypto asset boom since late last year, elevating the values of digital currencies such as bitcoin, Japanese players in the space are hopeful that the country will be able to advance to the next stage after undergoing a period of scrutiny and renewal. (Japan Times)

TOKYO — IOC President Thomas Bach has canceled a trip to Japan because of surging cases of COVID-19 in the country, the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Monday in a statement. (bostonglobe.com)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga looks likely to wait until autumn to call an election as the coronavirus outbreak rages on and the opposition gives up on a no-confidence vote that could have forced his hand. (Nikkei)