Five-time Olympian Ken Terauchi, who is set to dive for Japan at the Tokyo Games next summer, is being treated in hospital after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, his sponsor announced Monday. (Kyodo)

An old train car that has served as a tourist information center outside Tokyo’s busy Shibuya Station was removed Monday to be relocated to the birthplace of Hachiko, the famously loyal dog immortalized in a nearby statue. (Japan Times)

Although it’s been an awful disease that has damaged our world in many ways, the coronavirus pandemic also has a way of exposing certain weaknesses in societies and giving us an opportunity to rectify them. (soranews24.com)

Students in Japan are having a much shorter summer break this year to make up for classes that were cancelled in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

At a symposium with entrepreneurs in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the founder of Japanese electronics company Panasonic as a visionary alongside the likes of Thomas Edison. (Nikkei)

An NHK survey shows the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has the nation's highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the preceding seven days. (NHK)

Did Japan move in too fast? The infection rates are spiking in Tokyo and there is a lot of fear about strangers visiting local countryside towns as part of the government's Go To Travel campaign. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Tea shops, tea houses, tea bars or tea cafes. Whatever name they go by, spaces specializing in tea are popping up all over Japan and drawing a heavily female clientele, offering beverages with fruity aromas and Instagram-worthy colors. (Nikkei)

Fiji and Japan will be among the teams lining up alongside the Six Nations in a hastily organized eight-team international competition that will be held this autumn. (newsonjapan.com)

Over 1,300 new cases of coronavirus were reported on Sunday across Japan. Authorities have counted more than 1,000 new cases for five days in a row through Sunday. (NHK)

That loud ticking sound emanating from Tokyo's political clock bodes the imminent explosion of costs resulting from Japan's tepid COVID-19 response. (Nikkei)

Data compiled by Japan's welfare ministry shows the proportion of male workers who took paternity leave in 2019 edged up from the previous year but still remained low. (NHK)

Japanese company ispace has updated the design of its commercial lunar lander while delaying its first flight by a year. (spacenews.com)

Major Japanese automakers are returning domestic factories to normal production levels. The companies say global demand for automobiles is on the mend. (NHK)

A Japanese government-linked organization will help local companies export made-in-Japan refined crafts including stationery, furniture and accessories through online business meetings with overseas buyers amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Today)

Popular Japanese singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara was sentenced Monday to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for possessing illegal drugs. (Japan Times)

Organizers of the Tokyo Games announced the schedule for the Paralympics on Monday, with only minor changes to the plan that was in place before the coronavirus pandemic forced a one-year postponement. (Kyodo)

Tokyo reported 258 new coronavirus cases Monday, down from the record-breaking increases of recent days, but still a high figure amid a resurgence of infections since last month. (Japan Times)

Plant quarantine officials in Japan have had a number of inquiries about unsolicited packages of seeds apparently sent from China. They are calling on people not to plant them. (NHK)

A virtual-reality jacket that replicates the sense of touch, a belt that predicts when a pregnant mother will go into labor, and even a vest that monitors the health of your precious pooch: these are just some of the products emerging in Japan's fast-growing market for smart clothing. (Nikkei)

Japan confirmed on Saturday 1,512 new coronavirus infections, topping the 1,000 mark for the fourth straight day, as authorities in large cities have been forced to reimpose restrictions on some businesses to address the resurgence of the virus. (Japan Today)

Companies racing to introduce the successor to the batteries that power everything from our smartphones to drones to electric cars are closing in on their goal. But they are not alone. Startups have joined the fray to develop technologies for higher-performance power packs that can relegate today's lithium-ion batteries to an earlier stage along the march of progress. (Nikkei)

As the rainy season ends, Japan is entering summer without its typical scenes of festivals, fireworks and open beaches this year as the novel coronavirus continues to spread in the country. (Kyodo)

The shocking revelations contained in the report "I Was Hit So Many Times I Can't Count," released by Human Rights Watch on July 20 exposing the abuse of child athletes in Japan, came as no surprise to those of us close to the world of Japanese sports administration. (Nikkei)

Kabukicho, a 1-kilometer square commercial area on the northern side of Tokyo’s JR Shinjuku Station, is reputed to be Asia’s largest adult entertainment zone, with an estimated nighttime working population of 23,000 (based on 2014 figures). (Japan Times)