TOKYO -- Japan will add a provision on human rights to its corporate governance code for publicly traded companies when it is revised next month, as allegations of abuses by China in Xinjiang shine a spotlight on the issue. (Nikkei)

Japan has recently made illegal the carrying or sending of seeds or seedlings of domestically developed farm products out of the country as it tries to protect local producers from the impacts of unauthorized overseas cultivation. (Kyodo)

A life-size virtual assistant in the guise of an anime character was showcased in Japan on April 26, 2021. (South China Morning Post)

Are you tired of constantly losing when you play casino games and want to give up? Are you wondering if you can actually ever win at casino games because you keep having bad luck? (newsonjapan.com)

Hotel Amsterdam is located inside Huis Ten Bosch, a theme park based on the Netherlands. This is the largest theme park in Japan. (I Will Always Travel for Food)

A Tokyo police officer was found dead and his female colleague is missing on Mt. Tanigawa in eastern Japan, local police said Tuesday, two days after receiving a distress call. (Kyodo)

World's oldest person, 118-year-old Kane Tanaka, pulls out of torch relay citing Covid-19 fears (stuff.co.nz)

Monday marks the anniversary of Japan's Constitution coming into effect 74 years ago. To mark the occasion, some people around the country have been calling for the Constitution to be amended -- while others favor keeping it in its present form. (NHK)

LONDON – Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken held talks on Monday in London to discuss issues related to China and North Korea, following up on their leaders’ summit last month. (Japan Times)

Shimadzu, the Japanese company known for measuring instruments, has developed what is thought to be Japan's first domestically made PCR testing reagents for the potentially more virulent COVID-19 variant detected in India, with plans for a release as early as June. (Nikkei)

OSAKA – Senior vice defense minister Yasuhide Nakayama said Monday that the government has decided to set up a state-run mass vaccination center at the Osaka International Convention Center. (Japan Times)

Japan's estimated child population hit a record low after falling for 40 straight years, government data showed Tuesday, adding to the evidence of the country's aging population. (Kyodo)

The town of Noto in Ishikawa received millions of yen due to the impact of covid-19. The money was part of a rural revitalization project to help the countryside in the wake of the virus. (kotaku.com)

Japanese healthcare workers have spurned plans to deploy 10,000 of the already overworked personnel during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics just as a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections has pushed the number severe cases to a new record. (laprensalatina.com)

A U.S. SpaceX ship carrying Japan's Soichi Noguchi and three American astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday following the group's six-month mission at the International Space Station. (Japan Times)

Netflix has joined Japan’s booming virtual YouTuber — or VTuber — scene with the launch of an animated character to promote its growing anime streaming offering. (Japan Times)

Japan's health ministry says there were 1,084 coronavirus patients with serious symptoms across the country as of Monday. (NHK)

It's rare to find an entire abandoned village in Japan. But what about 12 abandoned villages? Why were they abandoned? Where did everyone go? Why was so much left behind? (Tokyo Lens)

Our baby finally gets vaccinated in Japan. He gets the BCG vaccine from a Tokyo clinic. (Tokyo Zebra)

Foreign communities in Japan, and their local supporters, are calling for lawmakers to scrap proposed changes to the country's immigration law. The revisions, which critics describe as inhumane, involve the forcible deportation of asylum-seekers who fail to prove a case to stay as refugees. (NHK)

Few places one could travel are as rich in spirituality and cultural history as Kyoto. But many people don’t know the close relationship Kyoto has with nature in its immediate surroundings. Travel just outside the city and you’ll find yourself transported to some of Japan’s most sacred sites. Mt. Kurama in the northwest is one such place. (WAO RYU!ONLY in JAPAN)

Amidst the ongoing Coronavirus global pandemic, Japan’s tech economy presents several innovative, high-paying careers in software development. (newsonjapan.com)

The Japan Sumo Association will hold a first-aid study group on May 7 following the death of a lower-division wrestler, who suffered acute respiratory failure after hitting his head during the sport's last grand tournament in March. (Japan Today)

Cape Soya is 1,000km from Tokyo at Japan's most northern point. In the height of winter we drive across a snowy Hokkaido to discover what's up there. (Abroad in Japan)

Japanese prosecutors have demanded a four-year prison term for former justice minister Kawai Katsuyuki for what they called an "unprecedented" act of vote-buying by a Diet member. (NHK)