Tokyo on Tuesday reported 925 new coronavirus cases as concerns grow over an increasing number of infections caused by highly contagious variants of the virus. (Kyodo)

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's visit to the U.S. last month included a phone call to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, as the Japanese leader sought to secure doses of the American company's coronavirus vaccine. (Nikkein)

Japan will tighten restrictions on people arriving from India, Pakistan and Nepal starting Monday to help prevent the further spread of a coronavirus variant that is ravaging India. (NHK)

While uncertainty remains over when — or even if — travel demand will make a full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan’s two major airlines are positioning themselves to take advantage of any upturn with a punt on low-cost services. (Japan Times)

Japan’s slowly but steadily rising prices, openness to foreign investors, excellent architects and infrastructure for house building — and an increase of resources and agencies for acquiring akiya, or abandoned, often ultra-cheap homes — have combined to make Japan a strong environment for non-Japanese looking to acquire real estate, be it a primary home, secondary home or investment. (Japan Times)

The spread of infections shows no signs of slowing in Japan as the daily figure of new cases nationwide surpassed 6,400 on Sunday. (NHK)

In Japan, 14 out of 47 prefectures have reported record high daily coronavirus infections. (NHK)

Awaiting its Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer, skateboarding has become increasingly popular in Japan as an outdoor activity one can enjoy while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, but the sport's surge has not been without trouble. (Kyodo)

IBARAKI (TR) – Ibaraki Prefectural Police have obtained a warrant for the arrest of a man over the fatal stabbing of a man and his wife and injuring of two of their children in the town of Sakai nearly two years ago, reports Kyodo News (tokyoreporter.com)

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says Japan's government is extending the coronavirus state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto until the end of May. (NHK)

A state of emergency has been extended in several regions of Japan as Covid-19 cases surge, less than three months before the Tokyo Olympics. (BBC)

Workplaces and schools are emerging as hot spots for infection in Japan's latest wave of COVID-19 cases, moving beyond the hospitals and senior care facilities that had been the main sources of spread. (Nikkei)

Japan's minister for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has told World Athletics President Sebastian Coe she hopes to see a successful Games, working with his world governing body of track and field. (NHK)

An online petition calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games is quickly drawing support. (NHK)

A search continued Friday for a roughly 3.5-meter-long pet python that managed to break free and slither away from an apartment near Tokyo, according to local police. (Kyodo)

We're taking on Japan's longest roller slide, a slide of 247 meters in length situated on the slopes of the mountains around Tabayama an hour outside of Tokyo. (Life in Japan)

Yokozuna Hakuho, who holds the all-time record of 44 top-division titles, pulled out of the upcoming Summer Sumo Grand Tournament on Friday and will miss a sixth straight basho, the equal third-longest injury absence by a grand champion in sumo history. (Kyodo)

The International Olympic Committee announced Thursday it will provide athletes attending this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics with doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, free of charge. (Kyodo)

East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, said Thursday that it has decided to cancel coronavirus-linked train service reductions planned on some lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area during the morning commuting hours Friday, as the measure is now expected to create crowds. (Japan Times)

TOKYO (TR) – A 30-year-old man in custody for allegedly drugging and raping four women has been accused in a fifth case, police have revealed, reports Nippon News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japanese retailer Nitori Holdings is getting into the restaurant business, where it will apply the same cost-cutting model it has honed in its furniture business to steakhouses. (Nikkei)

A harried commuter rushes through a Tokyo station hoping to catch the next train home. (Nikkei)

Mao Ichiyama won the women’s section of the Sapporo Challenge Half Marathon with a personal-best time on Wednesday, beating out fellow Japan Olympic team members Honami Maeda and Ayuko Suzuki. (Japan Times)

Trains can feel quite old fashioned, in a lot of ways. With long distance travel very much the preserve of the plane in modern culture, a long-distance train as a mode of public transport can be seen as quirky, rather than the go-to option. Japan, though, is determined to change that. (Tech Vision)

Behind the newly-minted Asian record-setter Shoma Sato in the men’s 200m breaststroke at last month’s Japanese Olympic Trials, Ryuya Mura stunningly claimed 2nd place in a huge personal best. (swimswam.com)