The government has decided to allow the reopening of parks, museums, libraries and other public facilities in areas with high coronavirus counts and to ease its request for slashing social contact, a senior official said Sunday. (Japan Times)

Suspected COVID-19 sufferers in Osaka Prefecture were forced to wait up to 10 days in mid-April before they were given polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which detect infection, Jiji Press learned Sunday. (Japan Times)

An emergency seminar has been held online to help cope with alcohol addiction, as people are urged to stay home in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. (NHK)

Cases of hospitals in Japan turning away patients on ambulance transports, mostly because they are suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, increased more than fivefold in April from a year earlier, a survey by Kyodo News showed Saturday. (Kyodo)

On the April 5 edition of the Fuji TV talk program, “Wide na Show,” comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto discussed proposed economic relief measures for people affected by the COVID-19 crisis. (Japan Times)

Extending the emergency declaration for the coronavirus by a month would double the ranks of the jobless to 778,000, according to an economist’s projection. (Japan Times)

Japan's education ministry presented Friday the option of schools reopening for some grades only to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections, with priority given to classes for first- and sixth-graders at elementary schools as well as senior students at junior high schools. (Japan Today)

Health minister Kato Katsunobu says Japan aims to approve remdesivir, the antiviral drug that may be used to treat coronavirus, in about one week after receiving an application from the pharmaceutical company. (NHK)

Japan's state of emergency due to coronavirus outbreak continues to bring an unusual quiet to roads, transportation and tourist spots in the holiday period that began in late April. (NHK)

Domestic organized crime syndicates operate on the basis of intimidation. (Japan Times)

Medical workers in Japan are facing severe shortages of protective equipment in their fight against the new coronavirus despite government efforts to increase support, a recent survey showed. (Japan Today)

To help contain the spread of the coronavirus, many Japanese universities have closed or transitioned to online classes to keep their students and staff safe. (Japan Today)

Two prefectures have issued orders to a total of four pachinko parlors still operating despite the ongoing state of emergency to shut their doors, reports Fuji News Network (May 2). (tokyoreporter.com)

A research firm says the number of bankruptcies in Japan triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has exceeded 100. (NHK)

Dimly lit, stinky and dirty, toilets at a park in Yamaguchi Prefecture are scaring away local children and sparking calls from citizens for renovations. (Japan Times)

The government’s annual Cool Biz energy-saving campaign for late spring and summer kicked off across Japan on Friday. (Japan Today)

Japan's education ministry is set to release guidelines on how schools closed due to the coronavirus outbreak could resume classes in stages. (NHK)

Immigration authorities plan to make active use of provisional release to prevent the coronavirus fron spreading in detention facilities, it was learned Friday. (Japan Times)

Tracking an infectious disease isn’t easy. Whether it’s a smartphone, newspaper or television, facts and figures seem to leap from every surface one comes across. (Japan Times)

A government panel of experts in Japan says social restrictions should vary by region depending on the scale of local coronavirus infections. (NHK)

Japan's Ryohin Keikaku on Friday began selling products from its Muji chain of no-frills home-goods stores via Amazon.com for the first time, broadening its sales channels as the coronavirus outbreak shuts down many of its domestic locations. (Nikkei)

Just 29 of Japan's 47 municipalities hosting prefectural government offices are planning to start emergency cash handouts within May, a Kyodo News tally showed Friday, in a sign that the novel coronavirus pandemic has complicated administrative efforts to swiftly implement relief measures. (Kyodo)

The transport ministry started thermographic boarding checks at four more airports Friday to contain the novel coronavirus. (Japan Times)

Japan's Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo, says he will extend the declaration of a state of emergency that is due to end on May 6. (Nikkei)

Workers providing essential services in Japan during the coronavirus crisis are not only facing a higher risk of infection than most but are also often being treated poorly by those they are helping. (Japan Today)