A record-low number of people passed through Narita Airport during nation's Golden Week holidays as most airlines suspended flights due to the coronavirus pandemic, immigration authorities said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Wednesday began a study into whether sewage samples can be used to detect signs of a spread of novel coronavirus infections. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials say 10 new cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed on Wednesday. The figure is the lowest in Tokyo since the state of emergency was declared on April 7. (NHK)

Japanese health officials confirmed 81 new cases of coronavirus infection across Japan on Tuesday, bringing the total to 16,049. (NHK)

Japan's health ministry has approved a simpler and faster antigen test method for coronavirus. It is expected to help raise the total number of tests. (NHK)

Time on your hands and a love of anime? A producer from Japan's Studio Ghibli is offering an online tutorial for drawing one of its most beloved characters: Totoro. (Japan Today)

A survey by NHK shows less than 80 percent of hospital beds available for coronavirus patients are filled in all Japanese prefectures other than Tokyo, as the number of infections is on the decline. (NHK)

Japan will consider lifting its state of emergency for five prefectures previously designated as potential hot spots for coronavirus outbreaks, including popular tourist destination Kyoto, but Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido will remain covered by the decree, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Five official Olympic merchandise shops in Tokyo will close by early June with business hindered by the coronavirus pandemic and the games being postponed until next year, organizers said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Japan may have rounded the corner and things are looking better in the last week. Here is news from around the country that I call the Japan Travel Update. (ONLY in JAPAN)

A Japanese health ministry survey says the country's 47 prefectures have only secured less than half the number of hospital beds they will need for coronavirus patients when the outbreak reaches its peak. (NHK)

The government shouldn’t rush to reach a decision on pushing back the start of an academic year to September, a prospect that would entail momentous changes to the nation’s educational system and possibly cost universities billions of yen in losses, a group of scholars said in a statement Monday. (Japan Times)

The launch of a new domestic rugby competition in Japan, originally scheduled for fall next year, may be delayed due to the one-year postponement of the Summer Olympics, a Japan Rugby Football Union executive said Monday. (Kyodo)

Businesses across Japan are slowly reopening even before the government makes its final decision on lifting a nationwide state of emergency. (NHK)

Temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius were observed in wide areas in Japan on Monday. Hot weather is also forecast on Tuesday. (NHK)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday started compensating small- and medium-sized businesses that had suspended operations through last week amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Times)

Casual clothing chain Uniqlo has reopened its flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district after a month-long shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. (NHK)

Amid requests for people to stay at home to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Japan, instances of tailgating or stones being thrown at cars with out-of-prefecture license plates have been growing in areas that have few confirmed cases of infection. (Japan Today)

When the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly broached the subject of renaming Ibaraki Airport as “Tokyo North Airport” last year, the debate touched a raw nerve for residents in the much-maligned prefecture. (Japan Times)

Japan's health authorities say the country saw 70 new cases of the coronavirus and nine deaths on Sunday. (NHK)

More than 90 percent of hospital beds secured for COVID-19 patients in Tokyo have already been occupied, the Japanese Health Ministry said on Sunday, underscoring the pressing need to curb the further spread of the new coronavirus. (Japan Today)

Japan's government says it may lift the nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak before the planned end date of May 31. This would apply to some of the 13 prefectures now under special alert, as well as many other prefectures. (NHK)

Concerns about a spike in suicides are mounting as more people are thrown into economic hardship and uncertainty by the coronavirus pandemic while support groups cut back on their efforts as infections grow. (Japan Times)

Japanese health officials confirmed 114 new cases of coronavirus infection on Saturday, including 36 in Tokyo. (NHK)

The bodies of two sisters in their 6os have been found dead in their apartment in Tokyo, police said Saturday, adding that they appear to have died two to three months ago. (Japan Today)