As a shortage of face masks continues in Japan amid the spread of the new coronavirus originating in China, their prices are shooting up on online flea markets. (Japan Times)

An annual bean-throwing event was held Monday at Naritasan Shinshoji, a major Buddhist temple in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, to mark setsubun, the day before the start of spring according to Japan’s ancient calendar. (Japan Times)

Police on Sunday arrested a man for allegedly firing several shots with a handgun at a home belonging to the second-in-command of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the nation’s largest yakuza group, in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture. (Japan Times)

A Fukushima prefectural police helicopter transporting a heart for transplant crash-landed Saturday in the northeastern Japanese prefecture, injuring all seven persons on board, including one seriously, authorities said. (Japan Today)

Tokyo Olympic organizers are trying to shoot down rumors that the 2020 Games might be canceled or postponed because of the spread of a new virus. (Japan Times)

The number of coronavirus cases in Japan rose to 20 on Saturday as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed ministers to come up with additional steps to respond to the outbreak. (Japan Times)

Japan is one of many countries that's implementing tighter border controls in a bid to keep infected travelers out. (NHK)

Original Japanese programs made for subscription video streaming services have thus far been less focused on finding new formulas and more about upgrading the familiar. With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that travel shows — or at least offerings that use countries that aren’t Japan as a backdrop — have started popping up on Netflix and Hulu. (Japan Times)

The number of people moving into Tokyo and its vicinity exceeded the number of those moving out of the area in 2019 by 148,783, up 8,915 from the previous year for the third consecutive year of increase, according to government data (Japan Today)

Local Chinese governments are telling companies to keep workers at home after the Lunar New Year holidays as the coronavirus infection spreads, raising the possibility of stalled production disrupting the global supply of smartphones, personal computers and other electronics. (Nikkei)

The Yamaguchi-gumi is one of the most feared crime syndicates in Japan and yet its name may become a relic of the past in 2020 if recent reports are to be believed. (Japan Times)

Japanese actress Erika Sawajiri has pleaded guilty to possession of illegal drugs. (NHK)

Drug stores in Japan are scrambling to restock their supply of surgical masks to keep up with growing demand as fears deepen over the outbreak of the coronavirus. (Japan Times)

Prosecutors on Monday demanded the death penalty for a man charged with murdering 19 residents and injuring 26 others at a care home for people with mental disabilities near Tokyo in a knife rampage in 2016. (Japan Times)

People around the world are buying up protective face masks in hopes of keeping the new virus from China at bay. (Japan Times)

Food exports from the European Union to Japan increased sharply in the February to November period immediately following the entry into force of their free trade agreement last year, the European Commission said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japan's government is facing criticism that its initial response to the outbreak of a deadly coronavirus was too lax, as other countries have taken stronger steps to prevent a spread within their borders. (Kyodo)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his country will deny entry to foreign nationals who have recently stayed in the Chinese province of Hubei, starting on Saturday. This is to help prevent the spread of the new strain of coronavirus. (NHK)

The number of foreign workers in Japan totaled 1,658,804 as of October last year, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier and marking the highest level on record, government data showed Friday. (Japan Times)

A Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed from his post after he carried out fabricated investigations in order “to touch inside the mouths of women,” it has been learned, reports NHK (Jan. 31). (tokyoreporter.com)

Asian airlines, already fighting stiff competition, now face more turbulence as the spreading coronavirus triggers fears of a repeat of the SARS-induced industry slump in 2003. (Nikkei)

An avalanche hit eight people who had been skiing off regular slopes at a ski resort in Hokkaido on Thursday. They are believed to be foreign tourists. (NHK)

Emperor Emeritus Akihito temporarily lost consciousness and collapsed at his Tokyo residence on Wednesday, but a subsequent medical checkup found no abnormalities, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan has confirmed three more cases of infection with the new coronavirus, raising the total domestic tally to 14. (NHK)

Three years ago, Japan didn’t have an active Under-19 cricket team. Today, however, Japan is one of 16 teams taking part in the ongoing Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa. (Japan Times)