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)

Vaccines against a coronavirus that has killed 170 people in China probably won’t be ready by the start of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, a professor who looked at health risks ahead of the games said, adding that he hoped that there was enough time to build defenses. (Japan Times)

Japan will allow more foreign nationals, including those holding short-term visas, to take a skills test from April under the new blue-collar visa program that is aimed at addressing national labor shortages, immigration officials said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japanese fashion billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has pulled out of a documentary search for a girlfriend to take on his voyage around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX, citing his "mixed feelings" about participating. (iol.co.za)

Intellectual Property High Court slams the breaks for the company once known as 'MariCar.' (soranews24.com)

Suntory Spirits Ltd. said Thursday that it will sell a 55-year-old Yamazaki brand single-malt whisky product, the company’s oldest whisky, on June 30. (Japan Times)

Tokyo prosecutors have obtained a new arrest warrant for former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn for suspected violation of the immigration control law. (NHK)

Like a lot of big cities in the developed world, Amsterdam lost population in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s as its inhabitants opted for newer dwellings and more space outside the city. (Japan Times)

The first group of Japanese evacuees from a virus-hit Chinese city arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday, a dozen of them with coughs and fever including two who were later diagnosed with pneumonia. (Japan Today)

All Nippon Airways Co. said Wednesday it will extend throughout February the suspension of all flights between the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak of a new deadly coronavirus began last month, and Narita Airport. (Japan Times)

The Village Plaza, which will serve as a key facility within the Athletes Village during the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was unveiled Wednesday ahead of its planned completion in April. (Japan Times)

Japan's health ministry officials say a female bus tour guide living in Osaka has been confirmed infected with the new coronavirus. This is the eighth confirmed infection in Japan. (NHK)

The hay fever season is set to begin earlier than usual in Japan this year due to a warmer-than-average winter, a weather information provider said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

The new Harajuku Station building in Tokyo’s pop-culture hub, which is set to open on March 21 in time for the Tokyo Olympic Games, was unveiled to the media Wednesday by East Japan Railway Co. (Japan Times)

Nissan is planning aggressive cost cuts to deal with an unexpected slump in sales as the expansionist strategy it inherited from fugitive former Chairman Carlos Ghosn flounders, four people familiar with the plans said. (Japan Times)

The municipal government of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, has launched a project to help potential settlers open ramen noodle shops in the area. (Japan Times)

Japan's health ministry announced on Tuesday that a bus driver in Japan who had not visited the Chinese city of Wuhan has contracted the new coronavirus. (Nikkei)

Japanese health ministry officials say passengers on the government-chartered flight will receive medical examinations on board. (NHK)