Japan will consider resuming its subsidy program aimed at promoting domestic tourism only in some parts of the country even if the current state of emergency over the novel coronavirus is completely lifted, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Japan's Olympics minister said Wednesday that coronavirus vaccinations would not be a prerequisite for participation at this summer's Olympics and Paralympics, despite a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal that athletes be inoculated. (Kyodo)

Roughly 1,000 volunteers who were to help out at this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have quit in the wake of sexist comments by former organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori, the committee said Wednesday. (Kyodok)

Mongolian-born yokozuna Hakuho on Monday spoke of his frustration at missing the January Grand Sumo Tournament after contracting the novel coronavirus, while remaining hopeful of a memorable return at the upcoming March meet. (Kyodo)

Twelve major Japanese companies have established a policy of ceasing business deals with Chinese companies found to benefit from the forced labor of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China's far-western Xinjiang region, a Kyodo News investigation showed Sunday. (Kyodo)

The Japan Sumo Association imposed the second most severe punishment on stablemaster Tokitsukaze on Monday, recommending he retire for violating coronavirus protocols when he made nonurgent, nonessential outings during a basho. (Kyodo)

Women's tennis star Naomi Osaka on Thursday welcomed the appointment of former Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto as the new head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee in place of Yoshiro Mori, who resigned last week amid a storm of criticism over his sexist comments. (Kyodo)

Japan and the United States agreed to extend an agreement on how much Toyko pays for the upkeep of US military bases on its soil for another year as they continue talks on a new pact. (aljazeera.com)

Japan plans to start inoculating elderly people only after the coronavirus vaccinations for frontline health workers have been administered, possibly delaying the initially anticipated start date for seniors in April, a senior government official said Monday. (Kyodok)

The annual number of juvenile suicides in Japan hit 479 in 2020, the highest figure since records began to be kept in 1980, education ministry data showed Monday. (Kyodo)

Japan and the United States have broadly agreed to extend by one year the current deal on Tokyo's costs for hosting American troops, Japanese government sources said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

A group of female Japanese lawmakers wore white in parliament Tuesday in protest of recent comments by Tokyo Olympic organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori widely criticized at home and abroad as sexist against women. (Kyodo)

Japan is unlikely to inoculate as many people with Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine as planned due to a shortage of special syringes capable of extracting the final dose from vials provided by the drugmaker, health minister Norihisa Tamura said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The organizing committee of this summer's Tokyo Olympics is planning to arrange an extraordinary meeting of executives, possibly by the end of this week, to discuss its response to sexist remarks made last week by its president that have triggered a backlash in Japan and abroad, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

Women's world No. 3 Naomi Osaka served up a tennis master class at the Australian Open on Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-3 second-round victory over Caroline Garcia of France in Melbourne. (Kyodo)

Doctors have warned that many coronavirus patients, especially younger ones, are suffering aftereffects for a long time despite subsequently testing negative for the virus and are calling on the government to take countermeasures. (Kyodo)

Just over 21 percent of people in Japan are washing or sanitizing their hands appropriately amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to an online survey by a team drawn from Tokyo Medical University and other institutions. (Kyodo)

ANA Holdings Inc. plans to reduce its workforce in the aviation business by roughly 20 percent over the next five years through natural attrition to cut costs and cope with the COVID-19 crisis that has depressed travel demand, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. (Kyodo)

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the employment and daily lives of foreign workers in Japan, despite their number hitting a record high of around 1.72 million in 2020. (Kyodo)

Many nonregular workers at large companies in Japan have not received compensation from their employers despite being forced to take leave amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, prompting Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to vow Thursday to end such discriminatory treatment. (Kyodo)

The head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on Wednesday said that meetings with many women tend to "drag on" for longer than necessary. (Kyodo)

Tokyo's oldest remaining stone bridge from the late 1800s, which was damaged during a deadly earthquake of March 2011 that devastated Japan's northeastern region, has been restored to its double-arched glory and will reopen in April, officials said Tuesday. (Kyodok)

Police arrested a 48-year-old woman on Friday for allegedly abandoning the body believed to be of her mother that was discovered two days earlier in a freezer at their former Tokyo apartment. (Kyodo)

The use of masks for television personalities on camera is recently garnering debate among the public and entertainment industry in Japan after news anchors on a major broadcaster began wearing them during a program. (Kyodo)

Japan's wine imports in 2020 decreased 7.0 percent from the previous year on a volume basis, as stay-at-home requests amid the novel coronavirus pandemic dampened demand from restaurants and bars, government data showed Thursday. (Kyodo)