The domestic production of eight major Japanese automakers in May plunged a record 61.8 percent from a year earlier to 287,502 vehicles due to factory closures and falling demand amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, data released by the companies showed Monday. (Japan Times)

Japanese precision instruments maker Shimadzu begins conducting coronavirus tests Tuesday for people who need proof of negative results to travel overseas, as countries reopen their doors to foreign travelers. (Nikkei)

A man died after he leaped into the path of a train at a station in Shibuya Ward during rush hour on Monday morning, police said, reports TBS News (June 29). (tokyoreporter.com)

NTT will enter the renewable energy market and invest more than 1 trillion yen ($9.3 billion) by 2030 to set up its own transmission network, Nikkei learned on Monday. (Nikkei)

Three of four quokkas recently acquired by a zoo near Tokyo were unveiled to the press Monday ahead of their public debut. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo High Court on Monday dismissed a man’s demand that Twitter Inc. delete tweets showing his arrest history, overturning a lower court order for the U.S. company to remove the online posts. (Japan Times)

Second-favorite Chrono Genesis blitzed the field Sunday to claim the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse. (Japan Times)

Japanese defense forces will establish next spring a new electronic warfare unit responsible for jamming signals ahead of an attack on the country, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Japan will begin to promote "workcations" -- working in vacation-like settings -- in 34 national parks and 80 hot spring resorts across the nation in response to increased remote work and decreased tourism due to the new coronavirus pandemic. (Nikkei)

A museum in the city of Mito, north of Tokyo, is holding an exhibition that features yokai monsters called Tsukumo-gami, which means spirits of tools. (NHK)

Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus response has suggested that there's no need to declare a state of emergency a second time. (NHK)

The Tokyo metropolitan government says it confirmed 57 new cases of the coronavirus infections on Saturday in the Japanese capital. (NHK)

Health researchers have put artificial intelligence to work in crunching big data, allowing them to develop technology that can predict the future onset of around 20 diseases so people can make preventative lifestyle changes. (Japan Times)

The new North American free trade agreement that goes into effect Wednesday was touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as an engine of American job creation. But Japan's automakers are largely opting instead to keep operations in place and pay Mexican workers more or even just pay tariffs. (Nikkei)

Japan has produced its first ninja studies graduate after Genichi Mitsuhashi spent two years honing his martial arts skills and absorbing the finer traditions of the feudal martial arts agents. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo District Court ruled Friday that a plaintiff whose television set has been altered to not receive signals from NHK does not bear a duty to sign a viewing contract with the public broadcaster. (Japan Times)

Japanese weather officials are warning of possible landslides and flooding in wide areas from Kyushu to the Kanto region as torrential rain is forecast through Sunday morning. (NHK)

H.I.S. Co plans to close around 80 to 90 outlets in Japan, or about a third, within a year as part of cost-cutting efforts after the major travel agency was left reeling at the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Today)

Universal Studios Japan plans to postpone the opening of its new area in Osaka featuring the popular Nintendo game character Mario due to the coronavirus epidemic. (NHK)

A crane overturned and its arm smashed into a nearby residential house on Friday in western Japan, triggering a fire and injuring a 1-year-old girl who was asleep at the time, police said. (Kyodo)

It’s been a month since Japan’s government lifted the coronavirus related state of emergency for all prefectures. But infection rates since then suggest Tokyo still hasn’t brought the outbreak fully under control, and one expert warns of cluster infections that are difficult to spot. (NHK)

The Japanese government will expand the scope of a subsidy program to help small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

Japan's railway operator is concerned that the planned opening of a super-fast magnetically levitated train system may be delayed due to a dispute with a local government. (NHK)

A crisis exposes the contradiction inherent in a society in various forms. That is an important lesson from history. (Japan Times)

Countries around the world are racing to develop a cure for COVID-19. Japan has become a victim of its own success. The country cannot find enough patients for its clinical trial. (WION)