The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to ask establishments that serve alcohol to close at 10:00 p.m. for 20 days, starting this Saturday.

In response to a resurgence of coronavirus infections in the Japanese capital, the metropolitan government plans to ask bars, restaurants and karaoke parlors in Tokyo's 23 wards and cities in the Tama area to agree to the measure.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is poised to ask bars and restaurants that serve alcohol to shorten their hours. Officials hope the measure will help curb the number of coronavirus infections, which have been rising quickly around the capital.

The affected businesses will be asked to close at 10:00 p.m. for about three weeks starting this Saturday.

While it is tempting to rush out and get the latest gadget, sometimes it might be better to wait. This is because as much testing and prototyping a company does, it’s hard to predict how a device behaves when it gets put into the hands of thousands of users who are doing all kinds of things with them, some of which might result in unintended consequences.

This seems to be the case with some early PS5 adopters who are reporting a variety of issues with their consoles, such as loud, buzzing sounds, and in some instances of unlucky gamers, their consoles are getting bricked which usually means that they’ll need to send it back to Sony to get it fixed.

Japanese health officials are urging people in all age groups to get influenza shots amid concerns about simultaneous outbreaks of flu and coronavirus infections.

Demand for flu vaccine is expected to surge this winter. The health ministry advised that people aged 65 or older should be given flu shots first from October 1.

People in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Okinawa have flown kites to pray for an early end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 30 people took part in the event held at a seaside park in the town of Motobu on Saturday.

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors is planning to seek early retirement for about 500 domestic workers as it tries to rebuild its business amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources say Mitsubishi plans to call for the workers to voluntarily retire as early as November. The measure will apply to those aged 45 or older, including staff at the head office and factories in Aichi and Okayama prefectures.

Even if it doesn't feel like it, winter is coming -- and with it, fears of another wave of the coronavirus on top of the seasonal influenza. Japanese health officials plan to call on elderly people -- who are most prone to becoming seriously ill -- to get a flu vaccine before a potential shortage makes it difficult.

The health ministry estimates flu vaccines will be supplied from October enough to cover about 63 million people -- half of the country's population.

A private research firm says 52 listed companies in Japan have offered early or voluntary retirement programs to employees so far this year.

Tokyo Shoko Research says the offers were made to a total of 9,323 employees between January 1 and August 13. It also says offers have surged since last month due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says its analysis of data collected by a weather satellite shows downpours that devastated a wide area in western Japan in early July were the heaviest in 20 years.

The agency's analysis shows the rainfall during the first 7 days of July in Kyushu and some parts of Chugoku and Shikoku hit a 20-year high for this time of the year.

More companies in Japan are asking staff to take early, voluntary retirement, as some of them struggle to weather the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Private research firm Tokyo Shoko Research says 41 companies did so during the first half of this year. That is already more than the 35 in the whole of last year. It is also the first time since 2010 that the figure has topped 40 in a six-month period.

Toyota's largest hybrid SUV, the Highlander, will go on sale in Western Europe next year, marking the first time the nameplate becomes available in the region.

Last we saw of the redesigned 2021 Nissan Rogue was the car itself, leaked in some fuzzy but revealing photos online. Today, some details are trickling out about what's better in the new compact crossover. Power figures and fuel economy numbers were uncovered by CarsDirect, showing minor improvements to both.

The current Rogue is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 170 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque. Citing an early document meant for fleet customers, the report claims the new Rogue will make 180 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers are only slightly better than before, so we imagine Nissan is simply using an updated version of the current 2.5-liter four-cylinder under the hood.

The head of an expert panel advising the Japanese government says it's too early to assess whether nationwide measures against the coronavirus outbreak are having the desired effect.

Omi Shigeru spoke to reporters at a news conference on Friday held by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

Education authorities in Tokyo are thinking about keeping metropolitan high schools closed until early May to deal with the surge in the number of coronavirus infections in the capital.

Schools were temporarily closed in March, in line with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's request for shutdowns through spring break to contain the coronavirus.