People have been enjoying walking beneath cherry blossoms at a popular viewing spot in Tokyo on Saturday, but there are no gatherings this year due to the new coronavirus threat.
Ueno Park attracts more than 3 million people to admire the cherry blossoms in a normal year.
A new train station building at Harajuku on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line has replaced the 96-year-old adjacent structure, which was famous for being the oldest wooden station building in the capital.
The last train rolled out from the old platforms in the early hours of Saturday. East Japan Railway will demolish the wooden edifice, which it says is not sufficiently fire resistant.
The number of coronavirus infections in Japan stood at 1,016 as of 9:00 p.m. on Friday, with 51 new cases reported across 15 municipalities.
The figure, provided by Japan's health ministry and local governments, includes 14 cases confirmed among people who returned from China's Hubei Province on chartered flights.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he wants organizers of large-scale events to continue exercising caution by assessing the risk of coronavirus infections.
Abe spoke at a meeting of the government's task force on Friday, a day after a panel of experts came up with a set of proposals to contain the spread of the virus.
The number of coronavirus infections in Japan stood at 965 as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, with two new cases reported in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.
The figure, provided by Japan's health ministry and local governments, includes 14 cases confirmed among people who returned from China's Hubei Province on chartered flights.
Friday marks 25 years since the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo cult.
Members of the cult released the toxic nerve agent inside morning rush-hour commuter trains on three lines in central Tokyo on March 20, 1995. Fourteen people were killed and about 6,300 others injured.
Japanese weather officials are forecasting stormy weather for the northern Japan on Friday, and advised caution against gusty winds and high waves.
Japan Meteorological Agency officials say two developing low pressure systems are approaching northern Japan. They are expected to merge over the Sea of Okhotsk and gather force Friday night.
Friday marks 25 years since the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Many of the survivors and their families are still suffering.
Members of the cult released the toxic nerve agent inside morning rush-hour trains on three lines in central Tokyo on March 20, 1995. Fourteen people died and about 6,300 others were injured.
A Japanese government panel of experts has given proposals on nationwide voluntary cancelations and postponements of events to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
The panel compiled the proposals on Thursday. It was headed by the director-general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Takaji Wakita.
Japan's Immigration Services Agency will allow foreign technical trainees to extend their stay if they cannot take skills tests because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Foreign technical trainees can stay in Japan for up to five years. They are required to take tests to renew their visas.
The number of coronavirus infections in Japan increased to 936 as of 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, with three new cases confirmed. The data was compiled by local governments and the health ministry.
The figure includes 14 cases confirmed among people who returned from China's Hubei Province on chartered flights.
A court in Japan has sentenced a man to 16 years in prison for the fatal abuse of his 10-year-old daughter.
The Chiba district court on Thursday handed down the prison term to Yuichiro Kurihara for inflicting injuries to his daughter Mia that resulted in her death.
NHK's experts answer various questions from people about the new coronavirus.
Q: What is the coronavirus?
The Japanese government has decided that arriving travelers from most European countries, Iran and Egypt will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks, starting on Saturday.
The decision was made at a cabinet meeting on Thursday to combat the spread of the coronavirus.