Japan and Singapore have agreed to allow short-term visits by each other's businesspeople, exempting them from 14-day quarantine under certain conditions.
Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu announced on Friday that the Business Track scheme will start September 18.
Face masks have been in short supply in Japan amid the coronavirus outbreak as well as hay fever.
The industry ministry says domestic mask makers are operating around the clock to triple their outputs to about 100-million masks a week.
Honda has announced a new recall on more than 200,000 Odyssey minivans, model years 2018 through 2020. Due to a safety defect, a wiring harness could potentially be pinched, which could create a short circuit and therefore a fire risk.
Honda first learned of a reported fire back in August 2018, but no information was provided to the company for further investigation. After a second fire in April 2019, however, Honda repurchased the involved minivan to examine it. In total, three fires were reported, and after months of internal testing and investigation, Honda identified the defect in January 2020.
Surgical masks are in short supply in parts of Tokyo, as people rush to get them to protect themselves from the new coronavirus.
A drugstore in the Shibuya district reports that sales of surgical masks are roughly five-fold the normal amount.
"Chichibu de Buchichi," an original animated short offered by Seibu Railway Co., is now streaming on the company's official website.
Set in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, and featuring voice actress and Chichibu native Tomoyo Kurosawa, the anime is aimed at promoting the charms of the city and its surrounding areas.