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)

Japanese car giant Honda said Friday it would aim to have electric and fuel cell vehicles account for 100 percent of all sales by 2040 to promote climate goals. (Japan Today)

Japan is considering operating large-scale COVID-19 vaccination centers capable of administering shots to 10,000 people per day, as part of efforts to speed up a vaccine rollout that is trailing other countries, government sources said Sunday. (Japan Times)

Do you think Ramen is the only type of noodle available in Japan? Or, do you think Soba is the same as the Yakisoba you can buy at your nearest Japanese restaurant and Asian market? (WAO RYU!ONLY in JAPAN)

In Japan, April is the time when schools begin their new education year, businesses launch new fiscal years, and the tulips and gardens burst into new life. Yes, the calendar year may begin in January, but Japan’s real new year begins in April. (Life in Japan)

The Tokyo Olympic torch relay is winding its way through Japan and is now in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki. (NHK)

Ayumu Goromaru, whose 2015 Rugby World Cup performance made him a household name in Japan, marked his final match on Saturday, when his club Yamaha Jubilo lost 46-12 in the second round of the Top League playoffs to Kubota Spears. (Kyodo)

Japan's third state of emergency to contain the rising number of cases of coronavirus has gone into effect in the nation's capital and three western prefectures. (NHK)

From April 25 to May 11, 2021 for Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto and Tokyo. Prefectural governors have the power to institute changes to closures. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Formula 1 has announced that the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix will remain at Suzuka Circuit for at least another three years. (formula1.com)

The Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 14th century wreaked profound long-term effects. Some historians believe it took 80 years for human populations to recover in most parts of the continent, and well over a century in certain areas. (Japan Times)

Japan's prime minister has declared the country's third state of emergency of the pandemic to contain rising COVID-19 cases. The measure will take effect in Tokyo, and three western prefectures on Sunday. (NHK)

Japan should consider requiring solar panels on homes and office buildings as part of its plans to achieve its new, higher target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told Nikkei on Friday. (Nikkei)

Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and three others lifted off Friday as part of a crew rotation flight on a SpaceX-developed craft to the International Space Station. (Kyodo)

The government plans to keep schools open in prefectures placed under a COVID-19 state of emergency in an effort to avoid interrupting education, officials have said. (Japan Times)

Few artists can convey infinity in a brushstroke or can tease out presence from the void. The source of Korean artist Lee Ufan's work begins in childhood, where he was raised with strict Confucian ideals and schooled in poetry and calligraphy. (NOWNESS)

Japan's tipplers will have to go straight home after a long day at the office as restaurant and bar chains shut down in response to a third coronavirus state of emergency that begins Sunday. (Nikkei)

The western Japanese prefecture of Osaka confirmed 1,097 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday. (NHK)

The bodies of a man and a woman and two children were found in a car in a convenience store parking lot in Yokohama early Thursday, in what police believe was a murder-suicide. (Japan Today)

More than two and a half months have passed since the coup in Myanmar. Although other countries are responding to this situation, they have not been able to have a concrete impact toward stopping the bloodshed that is happening in Myanmar, sparking harsh criticism from observers like the BBC. (thediplomat.com)