On the last episode of our 4-day road trip through Central Japan, we take a ropeway, drive along a scenic road and go sake brewery hopping. (japan-guide.com)

A 40-year-old woman died after being buried by an avalanche while snowboarding at a ski resort in the Hakkoda Mountains near Aomori City on Sunday. (Japan Today)

Coronavirus vaccine rollouts have begun worldwide, raising hopes that the global economy can start to reopen. (Nikkei)

Japan is considering introducing waiting lists for COVID-19 vaccinations to avoid waste, the minister in charge of inoculation effort has said, as the country prepares to expand the program's scope. (Japan Times)

Twelve major Japanese companies have established a policy of ceasing business deals with Chinese companies found to benefit from the forced labor of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China's far-western Xinjiang region, a Kyodo News investigation showed Sunday. (Kyodo)

Japan has received its second shipment of the coronavirus vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer. (NHK)

Komadori-Sanso is located on Mt. Mitake which is only one and a half hour train ride from Tokyo.　It's a Shrine Lodging of Musashi Mitake Shrine which is run by Shinto Priest Baba-san and his family. (WAO RYU!ONLY in JAPAN)

Komatsu, Japan's top construction equipment maker, plans to develop hydrogen power as an alternative to diesel for heavy-duty mining dump trucks, in a first for the industry, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Electric Power Company has found that the pressure inside one of the reactor containment vessels at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has dropped. (NHK)

The Japan Sumo Association imposed the second most severe punishment on stablemaster Tokitsukaze on Monday, recommending he retire for violating coronavirus protocols when he made nonurgent, nonessential outings during a basho. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government has found that at least 5,800 college students either left school or took time off because of the spread of the coronavirus between April and December of last year. (NHK)

Two high school students, aged 17 and 18, were killed, while another 17-year-old student and an 18-year-old were injured after the car they were in went off a highway and dropped two meters into a rice field in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, on Sunday morning. (Japan Today)

Japan's government has downgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in 10 months, saying a state of emergency for the coronavirus has hit spending. (NHK)

The Japanese government has decided to amend the country's juvenile act, in accordance with the revised civil code that lowers the age of adulthood from the current 20 to 18 in April of next year. (NHK)

A website developer in Japan has curated a platform highlighting neighbourhoods that have 'noisy children'. The platform is being accused of fuelling intolerance. (WION)

Japanese municipalities with large populations of foreign residents are planning to provide interpretation services for them at coronavirus vaccination sites. (NHK)

Japan's Naomi Osaka on Saturday defeated Jeniffer Brady 6-4, 6-3 to win the Australian Open final as she continued her unbeaten streak to 21 matches (14 Grand Slam matches). (wionews.com)

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has expressed to the Group of Seven industrialized nations his determination to hold the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials confirmed 327 new cases of the coronavirus in the Japanese capital on Saturday. (NHK)

The coronavirus pandemic has encouraged more cash-loving Japanese to move away from banknotes and coins, giving a boost for banks in their drive toward digitalization, the industry’s lobby group chief said. (Japan Times)

Japan reports suicides faster and more accurately than anywhere else in the world. Unlike most countries, here they are compiled at the end of every month. During the Covid pandemic the numbers have told a disturbing story. (BBC)

The Japanese government plans to revise the immigration law to allow some foreigners who have received deportation orders to stay with family members until they leave the country. (NHK)

NHK has learned that a capsule used to bring back asteroid samples to Earth will be on display in March at a museum in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. (NHK)

Japan confirmed a new variant of COVID-19, and an infection cluster emerged at a Tokyo immigration facility, presenting new challenges as the country tries to overcome a third wave of the pandemic. (Japan Today)

The Japan government has launched an initiative called GIGA (Global Innovation Gateway for All) that will allow local boards of education to provides a device for each student in Grades 1-9. (Google)