The terminal for Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains in Tokyo is much quieter than usual during the year-end holidays due to the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

A new variant of the coronavirus that was first detected in South Africa has been confirmed in Japan. (NHK)

A fresh ban on foreign visitors announced less than a week before New Year's Day was a telling sign of the high pressure Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga faces as he grapples with a deeply unhappy public that has sent his approval ratings tanking. (Nikkei)

Princess Kako, the niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, turned 26 on Tuesday, while spending much of her recent time at her residence in Tokyo and performing her duties online amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to the Imperial Household Agency. (Kyodo)

Sakuradamon Gate Area: Remains of Edo Era Residence of Yonezawa Uesugi Family (ONLY in JAPAN)

Former transport minister Yuichiro Hata died on Sunday while being transported to a hospital in Tokyo, though the cause of his death was not immediately known, people close to him said. He was 53. (Japan Times)

Japan is developing a system aimed at keeping track of travelers from overseas as part of efforts to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus within its borders, a senior government official said Sunday. (Japan Today)

A total of 2,948 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed across Japan on Sunday. (NHK)

Shrines across Japan would usually expect to welcome millions of people to celebrate New Year, but the novel coronavirus pandemic has dampened the celebratory mood this time as the country faces a third wave of infections. (Kyodo)

Nao Fukushi, a member of idol group SKE48, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and more than one dozen fellow members have been deemed to have been close contacts, the group revealed on Sunday. (tokyoreporter.com)

The Toei Oedo Line subway will temporarily reduce service after 15 drivers tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said on Saturday, reports the Asahi Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

The spread of the new coronavirus is threatening the supply of blood for transfusions in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. (NHK)

The Winter Cup is Japan’s biggest high school basketball tournament, but the 2020 edition is facing an unprecedented crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Japan Times)

Tokyo was undergoing massive changes as it prepared to welcome the world to the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games until the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything an abrupt halt. (NHK)

Tokyo 2020 organizers said Thursday that all 68 domestic sponsors for the Summer Olympics have agreed in principle to extend their contracts for the delayed games, even as growing coronavirus infections in Japan overshadow the event. (Japan Times)

Japanese airports and train stations on Saturday started seeing some lines of travelers heading to their hometowns or other places for the year-end and New Year holidays, but there was less crowding than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Today)

Giant advertising screens on buildings overlooking a popular scramble crossing near Tokyo's Shibuya Station will be turned off earlier than usual on New Year's Eve, as one of the efforts to deter people from gathering amid the coronavirus outbreak. (NHK)

Japan's prime minister said his administration will consider revising the law so that subsidies and penalties can be used in combination to enforce shorter business hours at bars and restaurants. (NHK)

Students at this unique suburban Tokyo school learn valuable life lessons in the kitchen. (NHK)

Tokyo reported a record 949 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday as infections continue to climb throughout the country. (Japan Times)

Former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe will not be charged over allegations his political funding group illegally subsidised parties for hundreds of voters in a case casting a shadow over the current prime minister. (straitstimes.com)

Tokyo reported its second-highest daily increase of 884 new coronavirus infections on Friday, as cases continue to rise unabated in the capital and several other areas across the country. (Kyodo)

About 18 percent of more than 1,000 universities and other higher education institutions in Japan continued to reduce their in-person teaching to less than half of their total as of October due to the coronavirus pandemic, the education ministry said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

If you thought Japanese beer meant Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo, think again. ( VICE Asia)

Japanese authorities have reported more than 3,200 new coronavirus cases so far on Wednesday -- the highest daily tally ever. (NHK)