There seems to be no end in sight for the price war among mobile phone carriers, with Rakuten Mobile Inc. unveiling a lower cost plan Friday in an effort to keep its edge over its powerful rivals. (Japan Times)

The Spring Grand Sumo Tournament will be moved from its traditional Osaka venue to Tokyo to limit the mass travel of wrestlers and staff during the coronavirus pandemic, the Japan Sumo Association said Thursday. (Kyodo)

The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday recommended athletes and officials receive coronavirus vaccinations before traveling for the postponed Tokyo Games, emphasizing the need to protect the health and safety of people in Japan. (Kyodo)

Japan will require researchers applying to grant programs to declare if they have received financial support from other countries in a bid to ensure transparency and protect intellectual property, officials said Monday. (Kyodo)

The season's first ice floes have reached the Okhotsk Sea coast of Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. (NHK)

The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 1,026 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, with the count exceeding 1,000 for the first time in three days. (Kyodo)

At least 15,058 people were on waiting lists for a hospital or a designated accommodations after testing positive for the novel coronavirus earlier this month in the 11 prefectures covered by a state of emergency, a Kyodo News survey found, as public health centers have been swamped with a surge in cases cases. (Japan Times)

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it has begun clinical trials in Japan of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by U.S. biotech firm Moderna Inc. with an eye to distributing it in the first half of this year. (Kyodo)

Japanese advertising giant Dentsu Group Inc. is considering selling its 48-story headquarters building in Tokyo for some 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion), which would make it the highest-priced building to be sold in Japan, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday congratulated Joe Biden on his inauguration as U.S. president and expressed hope the Japan-U.S. alliance will strengthen further. (Kyodo)

Heavy snowfall blanketed wide areas of northern and northeastern Japan on Tuesday, causing a fatal multiple-vehicle collision on an expressway, with the weather agency warning of gales and snowstorms disrupting traffic. (Kyodo)

More than 5,700 new coronavirus cases were confirmed across Japan on Sunday, with the number of hospitalized patients with serious symptoms topping 970 to hit a record high, authorities said. (Japan Today)

More than 5,700 new coronavirus cases were confirmed across Japan on Sunday, with the number of hospitalized patients with serious symptoms topping 970 to hit a record high, authorities said. (Kyodo)

A Sapporo court on Friday ruled as unconstitutional the now-defunct eugenics protection law that mandated the government stop people with disabilities from having children, but it rejected a claim for damages sought by a man in Sapporo. (Japan Times)

Japan's government has told sports bodies it will temporarily suspend the current entry exemptions that allow foreign athletes to enter Japan in order to train and compete ahead of this summer's Tokyo Olympics, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. (Kyodo)

The head of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has expressed his commitment to hold the events this summer. (NHK)

Tokyo reported 1,433 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as Japan’s cumulative total of coronavirus cases topped 300,000. (Japan Times)

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)

Japan will further tighten its border controls from Saturday by requiring all people arriving to submit negative results from virus tests taken within 72 hours of their departure for Japan during the period of the latest state of emergency. (Kyodo)

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 economy is expected to make its sharpest rebound in decades this year, with consumption set to pick up toward the end of 2021 as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the broader economy eases. (Kyodo)

The number of coronavirus patients with serious symptoms in Tokyo hit a record 108 on Monday, exceeding the previous high of 105 logged in April last year during the state of emergency amid concerns over hospital capacity. (Kyodo)

Japan's Kazuto Ioka successfully defended his WBO super flyweight title for the second time on Thursday in an eighth-round technical knockout of previously unbeaten compatriot and top-ranked contender Kosei Tanaka. (Kyodo)

Crowds of people were visiting Meiji Jingu, a major Shinto shrine in central Tokyo, early Friday after the coronavirus outbreak put the brakes on the tradition of visiting the shrine overnight on New Year's Eve. (NHK)

A post-Brexit trade deal between Japan and the United Kingdom came into force Friday, ensuring business continuity and strengthening the bilateral relationship as London seeks to join the larger Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. (Kyodo)