Nearly 400 people in Japan have been infected with a new variant of the novel coronavirus different from those found in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Toko Shinoda, a Japanese avant-garde artist internationally renowned for her unique style of abstract sumi ink paintings, has died of natural causes. She was 107. (Kyodo)

A woman who received Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine has died, but so far there has been no link found between her death and the inoculation, the health ministry said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

All Nippon Airways Co. has said it will offer digital in-flight magazines and newspapers from April to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. (Kyodo)

A man was arrested Sunday for allegedly killing his wife last year by pushing her off a balcony on the ninth floor of an apartment building in western Tokyo, police sources said. (Kyodo)

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)