Employers and universities have welcomed the growing debate on pushing back the Japanese academic year's start to September, hoping to encourage more students to study abroad and expand the nation's pool of globally competitive talent. (Nikkei)

Japan Airlines' annual net profit plunged nearly 65 percent, the company said Thursday, as it faced the "unprecedented" impact of the coronavirus pandemic on aviation demand. (Japan Today)

Some small municipalities in Japan began distributing on Thursday one-off cash handouts to people to help cushion them from the economic fallout related to the new coronavirus' spread. (Japan Today)

Police in Tokyo on Thursday arrested a 57-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of attempted murder after he stabbed a 61-year-old police counselor in a koban (police box). (Japan Today)

Companies poised to benefit from the changes wrought by the coronavirus pandemic have emerged as drivers of a budding recovery in Japan's stock market. (Nikkei)

Friday marks one year since Japan's Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne. He has taken part in a number of ceremonies related to his accession over the past 12 months. (NHK)

Rakuten Inc. said Thursday that it will suspend sales of a coronavirus test kit for corporate customers. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday that the Tokyo Olympics could not take place next year in its perfect shape unless the coronavirus pandemic is contained. (Japan Times)

A Japanese comedian apologized Wednesday for his recent remarks that men can look forward to seeing "pretty girls entering (the sex industry) after the coronavirus is over" as they would be in need of money and obliged to take such jobs temporarily. (Japan Today)

Disruption to the inbound flow of foreign trainees caused by the coronavirus pandemic has created labor shortages in Japan's agricultural sector and led farmers to turn to workers in the tourism industry as a stop-gap measure. (Japan Today)

Traffic was thin at major transportation hubs and highways throughout Japan at the start of the country's week-long spring holiday on Wednesday. This comes amid a government request for people to refrain from traveling due to the coronavirus outbreak. (NHK)

Food delivery companies are offering steep discounts during Japan's Golden Week holiday, as they fight for a slice an industry that is growing rapidly, partly due to the new coronavirus outbreak. (Nikkei)

Japan will begin providing the anti-flu drug Avigan for free to 38 countries as early as this week for treating patients with the new coronavirus, according to Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. (Japan Times)

Some of Japan’s most popular and beautiful gravure models want you to stay home during the spring vacation period. (soranews24.com)

The casino industry has been growing over the past few years and online casino market is emerging on the internet every day. This is primarily due to the latest technological advancements and a rapidly growing user-base. (newsonjapan.com)

A woman her 70s living in in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward became the victim of an apoden, or “telephone appointment,” scam after receiving a call from a man impersonating her older brother, which resulted in her being conned out of 14.2 million yen. (Japan Today)

Some 300,000 coronavirus masks sent to pregnant women in Japan as part of a government handout have been found to be faulty, media reported on Tuesday, the latest in a string of complaints about how the government has dealt with the epidemic. (Japan Today)

Gambling is, beyond a doubt, a global industry. (newsonjapan.com)

The Environment Ministry is gearing up to provide subsidies to help restaurants introduce high-performance ventilation systems to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. (Japan Times)

The number of people in Japan who have been fired or otherwise had their employment terminated due to the coronavirus outbreak has surged to over 3,000. (NHK)

Japan's Defense Ministry plans to draw up procedures in the event Self-Defense Force pilots encounter unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. (NHK)

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials reported 112 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, after the daily tally in the capital fell below 100 for two straight days. (NHK)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has clarified Gov. Yuriko Koike's statement that all pachinko parlors in Tokyo have complied with requests to suspend business as of Tuesday morning, after at least four were found to still be operating in the afternoon. (Japan Times)

At any given time, seven out of eight beds in the intensive care unit of St Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo are taken up by critically ill coronavirus patients. (Japan Today)

As the coronavirus outbreak leaves Japan's academic calendar in limbo, prominent figures advocate moving the start of the year from April to September, in line with common practice overseas. (Nikkei)