Japanese health officials confirmed 81 new cases of coronavirus infection across Japan on Tuesday, bringing the total to 16,049. (NHK)

Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture, is known for many things. Wide open pastures and snowy mountains. A unique cultural and linguistic heritage unlike anywhere else in Japan. And bears. (Japan Today)

Japan took another step toward building technology-enabled "super cities," with legislation set to pass that will help advance local plans by lowering regulatory hurdles. (Nikkei)

Japan's space agency says its asteroid probe Hayabusa2 has begun its final engine thrust for its return to Earth. (NHK)

Japan's health ministry has approved a simpler and faster antigen test method for coronavirus. It is expected to help raise the total number of tests. (NHK)

Time on your hands and a love of anime? A producer from Japan's Studio Ghibli is offering an online tutorial for drawing one of its most beloved characters: Totoro. (Japan Today)

A survey by NHK shows less than 80 percent of hospital beds available for coronavirus patients are filled in all Japanese prefectures other than Tokyo, as the number of infections is on the decline. (NHK)

In recent years, Japanese edible raw egg standard is having a positive impact on China, the world's largest egg producer and consumer. (newsonjapan.com)

Japan will consider lifting its state of emergency for five prefectures previously designated as potential hot spots for coronavirus outbreaks, including popular tourist destination Kyoto, but Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido will remain covered by the decree, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Japan's lower house passed a bill Tuesday revising the pension law, allowing people to start receiving benefits as late as age 75, with the rapidly aging country seeking to let more seniors stay in or join the labor market. (Japan Today)

If you were planning an escape from the clutches of societal expectations and the roar of the media screaming COVID-19 by taking a break at Mount Fuji this summer, you are in for a bit of a letdown. (Japan Today)

Hospital’s pregnancy consultation division receives its most queries from junior high and high school students ever. (soranews24.com)

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan said Tuesday it will give foreign nationals with periods of stay expiring in July a three-month extension to renew, in a bid to alleviate congestion at immigration counters amid the coronavirus outbreak. (Japan Times)

Five official Olympic merchandise shops in Tokyo will close by early June with business hindered by the coronavirus pandemic and the games being postponed until next year, organizers said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Britain plans to begin negotiating a free trade agreement with Japan via video conference shortly, the government said, setting out its negotiating objectives for a deal it hopes will save British exporters millions of pounds a year in tariffs. (Japan Today)

Japan may have rounded the corner and things are looking better in the last week. Here is news from around the country that I call the Japan Travel Update. (ONLY in JAPAN)

China has approached Japan about reviving business travel between the two countries, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Empress Masako fed mulberry leaves to silkworms at the Imperial Palace on Monday, marking her first act of sericulture, an imperial tradition passed down since the late 19th century. (Kyodo)

A Japanese health ministry survey says the country's 47 prefectures have only secured less than half the number of hospital beds they will need for coronavirus patients when the outbreak reaches its peak. (NHK)

The government shouldn’t rush to reach a decision on pushing back the start of an academic year to September, a prospect that would entail momentous changes to the nation’s educational system and possibly cost universities billions of yen in losses, a group of scholars said in a statement Monday. (Japan Times)

As the coronavirus pandemic brings Japan's dependence on imported medical supplies to the fore, the government has started working with more than 400 domestic companies to bolster production at home. (Nikkei)

Artists and other celebrities in Japan were among millions of people who have been posting protests online against a government bill that could extend the retirement age of public prosecutors. (NHK)

Deer stand in front of a store that sells special crackers which visitors to Todai-ji temple can feed the animals in Nara Park. (Japan Today)

The government won’t ask people to refrain from traveling between prefectures where the extended state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted, sources said Monday. (Japan Times)

The launch of a new domestic rugby competition in Japan, originally scheduled for fall next year, may be delayed due to the one-year postponement of the Summer Olympics, a Japan Rugby Football Union executive said Monday. (Kyodo)