A Japanese health ministry survey shows that less than one percent of people in Tokyo and four other prefectures are estimated to have had antibodies against the coronavirus last December. (NHK)

British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has applied for authorization to use its coronavirus vaccine in Japan. (NHK)

A hard question to answer would be, what exactly is culture? A regular dictionary might tell you that it is "the art and ideas of a set of people." (newsonjapan.com)

The rise of "inward-looking youth", with little interest in venturing outside Japan, has caused consternation among Japanese journalists, policymakers and business leaders in recent years. (economist.com)

Japan's population shrank by a record 420,000 people last year, government estimates show, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to an influx of foreign workers that had helped offset the country's ongoing natural population decline. (Nikkei)

When Japan rolled out its contact-tracing app last summer to fight the coronavirus, nobody expected that a major flaw affecting about one-third of users would go overlooked for more than four months. (Nikkei)

Netflix will raise the prices of its streaming plans in Japan by up to 13% on Friday, leveraging a subscriber base that has expanded sharply amid the pandemic to invest in its growing library of original content, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Olympic officials have unveiled anti-coronavirus guidelines to be observed by international sports federations taking part in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. (NHK)

The number of crimes recorded in Japan in 2020 hit the lowest level in the postwar era for the sixth straight year, with a sharp decline in street crime as people stayed home during the coronavirus pandemic, police data showed Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan's labor ministry says the number of registered foreign workers in the country has hit a record high. (NHK)

With the latest extension of the state of emergency, foreign travelers looking to enter Japan will have to wait at least another month, as a total ban on new entries will remain in place through March 7. (Japan Times)

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)

Upper house member Anri Kawai, who was found guilty last month of vote buying in the 2019 election, submitted Wednesday her resignation as a lawmaker, dealing a further blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's administration already suffering from falling approval ratings. (Japan Today)

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)

Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido is shedding some of its popular brands to focus on the luxury market. The firm will sell off its shampoo and affordable skincare unit to a foreign investment fund for about 1.5 billion dollars. (NHK)

SoftBank Group on Wednesday made its coronavirus testing service available to individuals in Japan via an app offered by its cellphone service provider, a move that shows the investor's broader ambitions in the health care technology business. (Nikkei)

After igniting a social media backlash and catching international media attention, the head of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee is apologizing for controversial comments. (NHK)

The head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on Wednesday said that meetings with many women tend to "drag on" for longer than necessary. (Kyodo)

Japanese lawmakers have just enacted legislation that will allow tougher enforcement of anti-virus rules. The legal revisions come as eleven prefectures -- including Tokyo -- remain under a state of emergency. (NHK)

New cases of coronavirus confirmed in Japan on Tuesday totaled 2,324. (NHK)

Japan's government is extending the coronavirus state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and eight other prefectures for a month, until March 7. (NHK)

Thousands of Burmese demonstrators gathered outside Japan’s foreign affairs ministry on Wednesday demanding Tokyo join its allies in taking a harder stance against the military coup in Myanmar. (Reuters)

Tokyo's oldest remaining stone bridge from the late 1800s, which was damaged during a deadly earthquake of March 2011 that devastated Japan's northeastern region, has been restored to its double-arched glory and will reopen in April, officials said Tuesday. (Kyodok)

Built in 1698, Tokyo’s Eitaibashi Bridge is one of a kind and has an interesting past. (ONLY in JAPAN)

There comes the point in many people’s lives where they just don’t know what they should do next. (newsonjapan.com)