Japan's Cabinet Office says the country's economy saw a historic downturn in the April-June quarter. GDP contracted by the most in 40 years as the pandemic upended the economy. (NHK)

Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up, tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and said he will pull out of the tuneup tournament at Flushing Meadows that starts next week. (Japan Today)

An unknown gunman shot and wounded a member of a criminal syndicate in Iwakuni City on Saturday, police said, reports Fuji News Network (Aug. 16). (tokyoreporter.com)

The annual bonfire festival in the city of Kyoto was held on a much smaller scale on Sunday to avoid large crowds amid the coronavirus outbreak. (NHK)

A Japanese bulk carrier that has spilled more than 1,000 tons of oil since running aground off the coast of Mauritius has broken in two. (DW News)

Tenri University in Nara Prefecture said Monday it has confirmed 24 players in its rugby club have been infected with the coronavirus, leading to the suspension of team activities. (Japan Times)

Calls for the government to shift Diet sessions online and allow for remote attendance have increased as Japan endures a protracted battle against the coronavirus, but implicit restraints within the Constitution have hindered progress so far. (Japan Today)

Many schools across the nation reopened Monday after summer vacations were shortened to allow students to catch up on classes missed when schools closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Times)

Many parts of Japan endured an intense heat wave on Sunday. Weather officials forecast that the scorching heat will continue on Monday. (NHK)

Shizuka Oya, a member of idol group AKB48, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, her agency said on August 14. (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo reported on Sunday 260 new cases of the novel coronavirus, with the figure remaining above 200 daily infections for the fifth consecutive day. (Kyodo)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on Saturday - the 75th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two - but avoided a personal visit that would anger China and South Korea. (Japan Today)

The maximum number of spectators allowed at concerts, professional sports and other events will be kept at 5,000 as the coronavirus continues to spread, government officials said Friday. (Japan Times)

Japan is sounding the alarm against the inexorable march of the fall armyworm, as reports of damage by the pest in Asia following its spread in Africa are increasing, threatening Japan with infestation. (Japan Times)

Weather officials says they expect "dangerously" high temperatures of almost 40 degrees Celsius will continue across Japan through Sunday. (NHK)

The spread of the novel coronavirus has left many coming-of-age ceremonies scheduled for August postponed or canceled, ruining a key opportunity to celebrate a new chapter in life. (Japan Times)

Japan on Saturday commemorated the 75th anniversary of its surrender in World War II, with the emperor and empress, the prime minister and a limited number of people attending a ceremony to mourn the war dead that was scaled back due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Japan Today)

Japan’s two major air carriers will substantially reduce their domestic flights next month due to weak demand amid a resurgence of novel coronavirus infections. (Japan Times)

Japan and Malaysia agreed Friday they may ease coronavirus-related travel restrictions for expatriates in early September, if they take precautionary measures such as a 14-day self-quarantine period after entering their respective countries, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. (Japan Times)

People in Japan are commemorating the end of World War Two -- 75 years on. A government-organized ceremony was held in Tokyo on Saturday to honor those who died in the war. (NHK)

Japan on Saturday reported more than 1,200 new cases of the novel coronavirus, topping the 1,000 mark for the third day, with cluster outbreaks and infections at home occurring at the height of the summer holiday season. (Japan Today)

Faced with the popularity of the Line chat app in home-bound Japan, Katsuhiko Kawazoe, head of research and development planning at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, has been asking himself: "Why could we not develop a service like this?" (Nikkei)

Japanese couple Rikiya and Ayumi Kataoka had their honeymoon wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic, but their resourcefulness in enforced exile in Cape Verde has won them appointments as ambassadors for its Olympic team. (Japan Today)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Friday that it will inspect bars and restaurants with a metropolitan government-issued sticker indicating that adequate measures to prevent COVID-19 infections are in place. (Japan Times)

When Kyoto University professor Shinya Yamanaka won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his work on stem cells, Edvinas Cerniauskas, then 21, became interested in the field and soon began to plan how he could come to Japan and study at the cutting edge. (Japan Times)