The International Olympic Committee says it will begin discussions on how the Tokyo Games should be handled, including their possible postponement during the global coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

Hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, Japan's economy faces its biggest challenge in more than a decade, with analysts warning of a technical recession and even the worse if this summer's Tokyo Olympics is cancelled. (Japan Today)

Princess Aiko, the daughter of Japan's Emperor and Empress, has attended her graduation ceremony at Gakushuin Girls' Senior High School in Tokyo. (NHK)

The Tokyo Olympics are going to happen — but almost surely in 2021 rather than in four months as planned. (Japan Today)

The new version of Harajuku Station opened on Tokyo’s busy Yamanote loop line Saturday as visitors in masks gathered to gawk despite the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Times)

People have been enjoying walking beneath cherry blossoms at a popular viewing spot in Tokyo on Saturday, but there are no gatherings this year due to the new coronavirus threat. (NHK)

Hyogo Prefectural Police have disciplined a police sergeant in Amagasaki City for engaging in sex with a subordinate female officer while on duty, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 19). (tokyoreporter.com)

The Olympic flame for the Tokyo 2020 Games has arrived in Japan from Greece. (NHK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government will not extend its current request for school closures across Japan to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and will allow classes to begin as scheduled in the new academic year starting April, the education minister said Friday. (Japan Timesj)

The company that operates Hello Kitty theme parks in Japan has decided to extend their closures due to the spread of the coronavirus. (NHK)

Friday marks 25 years since the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Many of the survivors and their families are still suffering. (NHK)

A government panel of medical experts said Thursday that schools can reopen in areas without new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, proposing to relax the current nationwide approach to pre-empt a further spread. (Kyodo)

On March 3, in response to the yearlong #KuToo protest against employers forcing working women to follow impractical dress codes, like mandatory high heels, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that this should not be allowed. (Nikkei)

Coronavirus infections linked to four live music venues in Osaka appear to be over as no new cases among visitors have been reported for a week, local authorities said Thursday. (Japan Times)

The average price of all types of land in Japan’s rural areas rose last year for the first time since 1992, aided by redevelopment projects and improvement in infrastructure, the government said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has begun to shift his messaging on the Tokyo Olympics, in a sign he may have accepted that the deadly coronavirus will make it necessary to postpone the event planned to start in July. (Japan Times)

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday referred to the 2020 Olympics as "cursed" due to mounting speculation that the Games may need to be postponed or canceled over the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

Gunma Prefectural Police on Monday arrested an intoxicated man who is alleged to have falsely claimed to be infected with the novel coronavirus inside a train in Kiryu City, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 16). (tokyoreporter.com)

NHK has learned that foreign countries' national team training camps for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games have been canceled or postponed in 16 cities across Japan due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. (NHK)

A Japanese court has sentenced a man to death for fatally stabbing 19 intellectually disabled people at a care home almost four years ago. (NHK)

The number of coronavirus infections in Japan increased to 821 on Monday with 17 new cases confirmed. The data was compiled by local governments and the health ministry. (NHK)

Akiko Yamamoto, a 32-year-old office worker from Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, has a side business: She rents out an apartment in Tenjin, Fukuoka, Kyushu's largest downtown area, to tourists. (Nikkei)

Health authorities in Japan reported 63 new cases of coronavirus infection on Saturday -- the highest daily increase excluding those linked to the cruise ship Diamond Princess. (NHK)

Officials in western Japan's Mie Prefecture say a man who was a passenger on a cruise ship that was hit by the coronavirus has again tested positive after recovering from infection. (NHK)

Japan's ban on the price-gouging resale of face masks came into effect at midnight on Saturday. But manufacturers expect the shortage to continue for some time. (NHK)