When 21-year-old Cuban outfielder Oscar Colas turned up in the Dominican Republic in January, he hoped to leave both his homeland and Japan's SoftBank Hawks behind him as a new baseball future in America beckoned. (Kyodo)

Japanese lawmakers have passed a second supplementary budget to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

The government's effort to distribute two cloth masks to each household will likely be nearly complete on Monday, some two months after the project began, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday. (Japan Times)

Formula One races in Azerbaijan, Singapore and Japan were canceled on Friday because of issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Today)

A Japanese high court on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision that the French head of Mt Gox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that went bankrupt after a massive hacking attack, was guilty of manipulating electronic data but not embezzlement. (Japan Today)

I was sent scrambling for my dictionary on June 4 when Finance Minister Taro Aso declared that the different "mindo" between Japan and other countries was the reason behind Japan’s low COVID-19 death rate. (Japan Times)

As central banks dive into the uncharted waters of yield curve control, Japan, the pioneer of the unorthodox policy, is struggling to stay focused on its own yield targets as it looks instead to money printing to help firms hit by the coronavirus. (Japan Today)

The education ministry said Thursday it is considering holding standardized university entrance exams in January as planned, despite months of high school closures due to the new coronavirus outbreak. (Japan Times)

The annual government-sponsored World War II memorial service, held in Tokyo on Aug. 15 to coincide with the anniversary of Japan’s surrender, will be scaled down this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the health ministry said Friday. (Japan Times)

Cases of COVID-19 appear to be persistent but relatively under control in Japan. However, the social and economic knock-on effects of the pandemic are only just beginning to reveal themselves. (soranews24.com)

SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. will develop a satellite to remove space debris with lasers, aiming to launch a related service in 2026. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has announced her intention to seek a second term as leader of the Japanese capital. (NHK)

About 80% of the facilities needed for next year’s postponed Tokyo Olympics have been lined up, the president of the organizing committee said Friday. (Japan Today)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said it confirmed 25 coronavirus infections on Friday as it further eased restrictions on business activities to get the economy back on its feet. (Japan Times)

The internet is an amazing thing, and it can be both wonderful and terrifying. Whether you're worried about companies or governments tracking your every digital move, there's no question that privacy is a big issue in the modern world. (newsonjapan.com)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has long made creating jobs for women central to his economic policy, but as the country heads for its worst economic slump since World War II women are suffering a bigger share of the pain. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday sounded cautious about the idea of letting schools across the nation shut again in the event a second wave of novel coronavirus infections hits the country. (Japan Times)

Chubu airport in central Japan will resume some international flights from next Tuesday after operations were suspended for more than two months due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the operator said Thursday. (Kyodo)

One of the key architects of Japan’s coronavirus strategy has hailed the country’s response to the pandemic, saying its approach was more effective than those implemented by Western nations. (Japan Times)

家電購入からオンラインギャンブルまで、そしてそれ以上の豊富な可能性 (newsonjapan.com)

The Japan High School Baseball Federation said Wednesday they will hold a series of games at Koshien Stadium in August between teams that had been selected for the cancelled spring invitational high school baseball championship. (Kyodo)

Cairo University in Egypt has issued a statement acknowledging that Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike graduated from the school in 1976, denying media reports that she is faking her academic credentials. (Japan Times)

A Japanese pediatrician who discovered Kawasaki disease -- a syndrome of blood vessel inflammation among young children with unknown causes -- has died. Kawasaki Tomisaku was 95. (NHK)

The first sand cat born in Japan will make its public debut Saturday at a zoo in the resort town of Nasu, about 160 kilometers north of Tokyo. (Japan Times)

Japan is planning to start allowing the entry of up to 250 business people a day from Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand this summer. (NHK)