Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed with U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc. to acquire its self-driving division for $550 million with an aim to accelerate the development of the carmaker's autonomous driving technologies. (Kyodo)

WASHINGTON – Japan will remain a destination to which U.S. citizens should “reconsider travel,” the U.S. State Department said Monday based on its latest travel advisory assessment amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Times)

Japanese scientists have classified the fossilized bones of a dinosaur found on an island in western Japan as a new species. (NHKn)

The Japanese government has lodged a protest with China over topographical maps it published of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. (NHK)

The mayor of a city in the western Japan prefecture of Osaka said Monday he will step down after finding himself in the hot seat for setting up a home sauna just next to his office for personal use. (Kyodo)

Japan's ruling party suffered a triple blow at by-elections over the weekend, as voter frustration with scandals and government management of the coronavirus risked weakening the influence of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government. (channelnewsasia.com)

Nobuhiko Ôbayashi is the Japanese film-maker who directed the cult 1977 horror Hausu, or House, and in his long and prolific career also specialised in TV ads starring American movie actors for the domestic market (satirised in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation). (theguardian.com)

The government on Monday said it has so far detected more than 20 cases of the Indian variant of COVID-19 in Japan — a rise in the number of cases of the potentially worrisome new strain that some fear could prove more resistant to existing vaccines. (Japan Times)

Noguchi Soichi, an astronaut preparing to leave the International Space Station for a return to Earth, has handed the baton over to fellow Japanese Hoshide Akihiko, who arrived there days ago with three other astronauts. (NHK)

In Japan the number of people who had the coronavirus and died has now topped 10,000. It took about one year for the tally to reach 5,000 since the first case of infection was confirmed in the country. It took only three months for that figure to double. (NHK)

Our biggest High Speed Rail Explained video yet is here! And of course, we're looking at the country that did it first and did it best — Japan. (RMTransit)

Shinto is the native religious tradition of Japan. I think it's easy to see visual signs of it throughout Japan, from the shrines (jinja) to the gates (torii). But what I was interested in finding out was what Shinto practices can be found in everyday Japanese life that aren't so visually obvious. (Life Where I'm From)

The Japan Sumo Association has decided to hold the first three days of its upcoming tournament in Tokyo without spectators in response to a coronavirus state of emergency. (NHK)

Japan's Supreme Court overturned on Monday a high court ruling in 2019 that denied damages to hepatitis B patients with relapses citing the expiration of the 20-year eligibility period. (Jiji)

MIYAZAKI - There are many reasons to visit Japan’s shrines. They are, of course, religious sites, often dedicated to particular guardian gods or to receiving prayers for particular purposes. (Japan Today)

Eating wild Japan is a very in depth and well written engaging book that captivates the reader with traditional methods of preparation of wild edible plants. (Trillium: Wild Edibles)

Japanese government officials have asked the operator of the Line messaging app to explain how it will do a better job of protecting user data. (NHK)

Japan Airlines Co. is planning to make a unit of Chinese low-cost carrier Spring Airlines Co. a subsidiary to meet an expected recovery in tourism demand after the coronavirus pandemic subsides, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Meteorological Agency has modified its view of the eruption at Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Sunday morning. It now says that what appeared to be pyroclastic flows -- a dense current of hot gas and volcanic matter -- were actually volcanic fumes. (NHK)

Public elementary and junior high schools in the Japanese city of Osaka have introduced online classes, due to the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

Terunofuji will contest the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament as an ozeki, returning to the sport's second-highest rank for the first time in 21 meets, the Japan Sumo Association confirmed Monday in the form of its latest rankings. (Kyodo)

Did you know that there are around 300,000 international students in Japan? Why do they come to Japan to study and what’s it like studying in Japan in 2021, especially during COVID-19? Let’s hit the streets of Tokyo to find out. (Asian Boss)

Coronavirus variants are spreading rapidly in Tokyo and other areas set to be placed under Japan’s third COVID-19 state of emergency, with the N501Y strains forecast to account for over 90% of all new infections in Tokyo and Osaka and Hyogo prefectures. (Japan Times)

A spacecraft carrying Japan's Hoshide Akihiko and three other astronauts has successfully docked with the International Space Station. (NHK)

The Tenshō embassy was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582. (Voices of the Past)