The coronavirus hasn't stopped a street in the city of Sendai, northeastern Japan, from becoming a dazzling winter wonderland.
The annual Sendai Pageant of Starlight began at 7 p.m. on Friday, when hundreds of thousands of LED lights attached to the street's zelkova trees were switched on.
Sightseeing spots across Japan have been welcoming visitors on the first Sunday since the government declared the next three weeks as crucial to curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Popular tourist attractions in Tokyo were mainly visited by local residents who had decided against long-distance travel.
On this a three-day holiday weekend here in Japan, plenty of people have been venturing out and traveling, despite the risks of coronavirus infection.
Some people in Tokyo decided to view the autumn leaves, preferring to stay close to home rather than going far afield. There were 391 new coronavirus infections reported on Sunday in the capital. That's a drop from recent days, when over 500 cases were reported daily.
TOKYO — Japanese automaker Honda reported Friday that its profit rose 23% in the last quarter, despite a pandemic that has slammed businesses around the world.
Tokyo-based Honda said its July-September profit was 240.9 billion yen ($2.3 billion), up from 196.5 billion yen a year earlier, as the auto market recovered in some parts of the world.
An epidemiology expert is urging residents in the path of a typhoon to evacuate without hesitation regardless of the threat of the coronavirus.
Kaku Mitsuo of Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University says some people may feel wary of going to crowded shelters due to the risk of infection.
The Japanese government will go ahead with plans to ease restrictions on large events on Friday despite a surge in coronavirus cases in parts of the country, including Tokyo.
The government is raising the maximum attendance at spectator events from 1,000 to 5,000. Daily new cases continue to climb in Tokyo. The capital recorded 224 infections on Thursday, its highest daily total to date.
A top official at the US Embassy in Tokyo says the US military "remains ready and capable to deal with any kind of aggressive acts," even though coronavirus cases have been found on a US aircraft carrier and bases in Japan.
Charge d'Affaires ad interim Joseph Young gave a video interview to NHK on Friday. He said the US forces have taken "proactive measures to minimize the risk of infection and spread," and the US is ready to respond to any actor that might want to take advantage while the East Asian region is focused on the coronavirus.
Japan's government says it's still cautious about the country's coronavirus outbreak, despite a recent drop in new infections in the capital.
Tuesday marks three weeks since the government declared a state of emergency.
Nissan is committed to introducing its replacement for the aging Rogue crossover in 2020 despite potential complications due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company confirmed early Monday.
"At this time, our new model launch programs for the U.S. are on track. The all-new Nissan Rogue will be in U.S. showrooms this fall," Nissan said in a statement obtained by Automotive News.
A Japanese Cabinet minister says organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are working on preparations for the torch relay to be held later this month as planned.
The relay is scheduled to start on March 26 in Fukushima Prefecture.
The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games are under pressure to come up with clear guidelines on how to deal with the new coronavirus infection.
The Olympic flame will start making its way across Japan in late March. The organizers say it's not possible to push that date back.
TOKYO/PARIS — Shares in Renault recovered some lost ground on Tuesday after the French carmaker and its Japanese partner Nissan rejected media reports that their alliance was in danger of being dissolved. Some have openly questioned whether the alliance can survive without disgraced former CEO Carlos Ghosn to keep the two partners happy. Renault shares fell to a six-year low on Monday after rumors circulated that its alliance with Nissan was in jeopardy. Nissan shares tumbled to their lowest in 8½ years on Tuesday in Tokyo. At the opening of trading in Paris on Tuesday, Renault shares rose 1.3 percent, before falling back slightly to trade up 0.49 percent by 08:23 GMT. The alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, is "solid, robust, everything but dead," the chairman of Renault, Jean-Philippe Senard, told Belgian newspaper L'Echo. A split between the two automotive giants would force both to find new partners in a fast-consolidating industry that is growing increasingly difficult to navigate for independent companies. It will be especially difficult for Renault and Nissan, whose dirty laundry Ghosn intends to air for public consideration. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also weighed in, saying reports some executives wanted to break up the alliance were "malicious." Speaking to France's CNews TV, he also said he expected Renault to name a new chief executive within days to replace Thierry Bollore, a Ghosn-era appointee who was ousted in October. Luca de Meo, who stepped down as the head of Volkswagen's Seat brand last week, is seen as a frontrunner for the job, although a stringent non-compete clause in his contract firm may prove a hurdle, sources have told Reuters. Nissan, in response to "speculative international media reports," said it was "in no way considering dissolving the alliance." "The alliance is the source of Nissan's competitiveness," the Japanese automaker said in a statement. "Through the alliance, to achieve sustainable and profitable growth, Nissan will look to continue delivering win-win results for all member companies." Concerns emerged about the future of the Renault-Nissan partnership after the November 2018 arrest in Japan of Ghosn, the man who did more than anyone else to hold together the disparate alliance of often-contrasting carmaking cultures. Those worries were given new momentum after Ghosn last month fled Japan where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct -- which he denies --, flew to Lebanon, and told the media the alliance was riven with mistrust. A Financial Times report on Monday that Nissan executives were making contingency plans for a split with Renault appeared to accelerate a sell-off in the French manufacturer's shares.