A panel of experts at Japan's health ministry has pointed out that the number of new cases of the coronavirus in the country has been declining at a slower pace since mid-February. (NHK)

It’s no secret that the best Japanese whisky can be hard to find – even in Japan. Despite all the limited-edition bottles and the re-releases of old single malts, the good stuff is in chronically short supply. In fact, there’s even less Japanese-made whisky out there than you think. (timeout.com)

Japan's Olympics minister said Wednesday that coronavirus vaccinations would not be a prerequisite for participation at this summer's Olympics and Paralympics, despite a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal that athletes be inoculated. (Kyodo)

Japan's SG Holdings, operator of the Sagawa Express courier service, looks to switch all of its roughly 7,000 minicars to electric models by 2030 with the goal of reducing carbon emissions more than 10%. (Nikkei)

Yukimuro Japanese Snow Refrigerators Where is this? Near Ikazuchi Shrine (ONLY in JAPAN)

Roughly 1,000 volunteers who were to help out at this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have quit in the wake of sexist comments by former organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori, the committee said Wednesday. (Kyodok)

Nippon Steel’s announcement is the latest example of the challenges faced by the steel industry in developed economies: overcapacity and environmental regulations. (yahoo.com)

Suzuki Motor Corp. Chairman Osamu Suzuki will retire after leading the Japanese automaker for more than 40 years and making it into a global player with an overwhelming dominance in the Indian car market, the firm said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

An Istanbul court on Wednesday sentenced three Turks to four years and two months in prison for helping smuggle former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn in a musical instrument case to Lebanon from Japan. (yahoo.com)

Japan's top government spokesperson says measures against the coronavirus will be eased in stages even if the government lifts an emergency declaration earlier than initially planned. (NHK)

This time last year, the Saidaiji Kannon-in temple in Japan’s Okayama prefecture was a writhing ball of flesh. (news.com.au)

Former Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa told a Japanese court Wednesday he believed the compensation for his predecessor Carlos Ghosn was too low “by international standards,” and so he supported Ghosn’s retirement packages to prevent him from leaving. (Japan Today)

Since last year, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (Tepco) left two broken seismometers unrepaired at the No. 3 reactor within its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, officials said Monday. (Japan Times)

NAGOYA – Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday began construction of a smart city at the foot of Mount Fuji in central Japan as a testing ground for new technologies including robotics and artificial intelligence. (Japan Times)

Boeing​ Co said it recommended suspending the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after #US​ regulators announced extra inspections and #"Japan suspended their use while considering further action. (FRANCE 24 English)

An employee of major Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation has been released from prison in China after serving his sentence of three years for harming national security. (NHK)

Visitors in Japan have been enjoying an outdoor sauna tent camp near the Atago River in Hamamatsu, a coastal city on Japan’s main island. (South China Morning Post)

The governor of Shimane Prefecture in western Japan has urged the central government to resolve a territorial dispute with South Korea over the Takeshima Islands. (NHK)

The number of deaths in the nation last year decreased by 9,373, or 0.7%, from a year earlier to 1,384,544, down for the first time in 11 years, preliminary health ministry data showed on Monday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Emperor Naruhito turned 61 years old on Tuesday. (NHK)

A dance group in Nagoya, Japan created a stage that allows the audience to watch the performance through peepholes. Each spectator has their own isolated cubicle to ensure social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. (South China Morning Post)

The combined number of babies born in Japan and to Japanese nationals living abroad stood at 872,683 in 2020, down 25,917 from a year earlier and marking the lowest level on record, according to health ministry data released Monday. (Nikkei)

"Johatsu" means "Evaporated People" and it is the term the Japanese use for when people disappear without a trace. (Brilliant News)

"Omotenashi" is the Japanese concept of providing hospitality that goes above and beyond. It is reflected in craftsmanship across every era, from Edo Kiriko (cut glass) to the Tokyo Tower, a timeless philosophy that endures even in an increasingly modernizing world. (Discovery Channel Southeast Asia)

More communications ministry officials have been found to have been treated to expensive meals by a son of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the ministry said Monday, further widening the scandal that has already brought four senior bureaucrats under scrutiny. (Japan Today)