Tokyo prosecutors are expected to bring a summary indictment soon against a secretary of former prime minister Abe Shinzo over alleged political funding violations involving his support group.
It has been revealed that Abe's office had covered part of the cost of dinner parties for his supporters at Tokyo hotels. They were held on the eve of government-funded cherry blossom viewing events while Abe was in office.
Japan's medical systems are increasingly under strain as the number of cases of coronavirus continues to rise.
On Tuesday, Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures were at Stage 4, the worst of the four-level alert scale, in terms of hospital bed availability. The scale was set by a government advisory panel to assess the severity of an outbreak.
A survey by a labor union has found that workers in the critical retail sector, including supermarkets and drugstores, have been subject to abusive customer behavior stemming from the new coronavirus outbreak.
Industrial union UA ZENSEN polled its members in the retail and service industries between July and September. About 27,000 responded.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has said the government will step up efforts to secure face mask supplies in case of a further spread of the coronavirus in the country.
Suga told reporters on Wednesday that about one billion face masks were available in Japan in August, and roughly half were produced domestically.
Monday marks one year until the postponed Paralympic Games are scheduled to open in Tokyo. But the coronavirus pandemic is posing challenges for the athletes and the organizations that support them.
The head of the International Paralympic Committee is determined that the Games will go ahead. IPC President Andrew Parsons says the Paralympics will be even more important after the pandemic than before the pandemic.
Students in Japan are having a much shorter summer break this year to make up for classes that were cancelled in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While August is usually a month off for students, the education ministry says more than 1,700 boards of education across the country plan to shorten summer holidays to offset the lost time.
A survey has found that many Japanese nationals living overseas are being severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
A Japanese company, Locotabi, conducted a survey earlier this month of around 44,000 Japanese who live abroad and are registered with the firm as local guides. A total of 2,155 people from 94 countries and territories responded.
Last year was a big one in the world of performance cars, thanks largely to the arrival of the Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray and the new Toyota Supra. While the two have vastly different engines and roughly $10,000 separating their MSRPs, they are both huge fun to drive and are also very capable on a circuit.