Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has formally announced his intention to resign due to a relapse of an inflammatory bowel disease. (NHK)

Vaccinations for the novel coronavirus will be secured for all citizens by the first half of next year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced during a news conference Friday in which he put forward a series of policy packages and revisions that, together, represent a shift in the country’s comprehensive strategy to suppress the pandemic. (Japan Times)

With the announcement of his resignation, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the first leader of a major economy to step down amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Nikkei Stock Average's 2.6% plunge that followed reflects international concern over the risks that may lie ahead for the nation's politics, security and economy. (Nikkei)

Starting from September, Japan will loosen its widely criticized entry restrictions on travelers from abroad, allowing all its foreign residents with a legal residence status to travel freely and thus enabling those seeking re-entry to the country to return, government officials said Friday. (Japan Times)

The body of a 62-year-old construction worker was found Friday in a 30-meter-deep oil tank at a construction site in Yokohama, near Tokyo, after an apparent accident earlier this week, police said. (Kyodo)

The decades-old dream of zipping around in the sky as simply as driving on highways may be becoming less illusory. (Japan Today)

Kentaro Sakai is a champion breeder of nishikigoi carp aka koi fish. Just last year, one sold at an auction for an astounding amount of money— nearly $2 million USD. Sakai’s carp are prized by wealthy collectors for their vivid colors, distinct patterns and glossy skin. (Great Big Story)

Amid an increase in community transmission of the new coronavirus, more cases are being seen in which schoolchildren and teachers are testing positive for the virus or have had close contact with those who have been infected. (Japan Times)

A teenage boy was arrested Friday as a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a woman in her 20s at a shopping mall in southwestern Japan, police said. (Kyodo)

North Korea may be carefully watching who will succeed Shinzo Abe after the Japanese prime minister, who had made resolving the abduction issue a major goal in his political career, expressed his intention to step down on Friday, diplomats said. (Japan Times)

The Environment Ministry said Thursday that a species of small butterfly endemic to southern Japanese islands is feared to have gone extinct as all artificially-bred butterflies and worms of the type have died. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 20-year-old male beautician over the alleged molestation of a woman in Meguro Ward, reports Fuji News Network (Aug. 26). (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's government says the economy is still in a severe situation in August, although it's showing signs of picking up. That assessment is unchanged from the month before as the country grapples with the pandemic. (NHK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the head of the U.S. Space Force on Thursday agreed to enhance bilateral defense cooperation in outer space, where regional rivals China and Russia are building up their capabilities. (Japan Today)

The monthly number of people migrating into Tokyo and its vicinity in July was less than the number of those moving out of the area for the first time, as the capital became the center of a coronavirus resurgence in the country, government data showed Thursday. (Japan Today)

A voluntary request to have food establishments in the capital’s central 23 wards operate under reduced business hours will be extended into next month, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike announced Thursday. (Japan Times)

The Tokyo Metropolitan government says it confirmed 250 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Thursday. (NHK)

Reader, heal thyself! In many a bookstore in Japan these days, that appears to be the message from publishers to consumers looking for summertime page-turners or browsers in search of popular titles about golf, computers and business-and-finance trends. (Nikkei)

Archaeologists have unearthed 1,500 human remains from a 19th-century burial site in Osaka. Experts believe the bones belong to local residents who may have perished in an epidemic that swept the region in the 1800s. (dw.com)

The number of people taken to hospital by ambulance due to heatstroke symptoms in Japan in July tumbled about 50 percent from a year before to 8,388, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Japan raised its travel advisory Wednesday for 13 countries mainly in Africa, warning against traveling to them amid concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Kyodo)

Japanese researchers said on Wednesday that low concentrations of ozone can neutralise coronavirus particles, potentially providing a way for hospitals to disinfect examination rooms and waiting areas. (Reuters)

Sales at Japan's major restaurant chains kept falling in July, as the coronavirus discouraged people from eating out. (NHK)

Motoi Fukunishi, the oldest man in Japan, has died, it was learned Wednesday. He was 110. (Japan Times)

The ratio of women who hold senior positions at companies in Japan has inched up, but remains far below the government's target. (NHK)