Nissan has kicked off a world-class factory restoration program for the Skyline GT-R. To say the restoration is extensive would be an understatement. Much more than just a refresh, candidate cars will be stripped down as naked as the day they were born on the assembly line.

Work will be conducted by the technicians of the NISMO performance arm. What follows, as reported by Japanese Nostalgic Car, is an insanely detailed checklist that can take six months to a year to complete. Cars that undergo the knife will be completely disassembled, taken down to bare metal, and examined for rust and chassis integrity. Since this is a factory program, the unibody can be checked with laser accuracy against its original specs. Any irregularities are repaired and then the car prepped for paint.

If you can lease a new car, why not a Certified Pre-Owned used car? That notion would seem to offer even lower payments since the depreciation over the term of the lease would be less. To date, however, that idea has not caught on, but now Honda is — very tentatively — testing the waters of CPO car leasing.

For the program, Honda has hooked up with Fair.com, a used-car leasing site that was started a few years ago. Fair offers the ability to lease a used car on either a month-by-month basis or for a fixed term, and charges a start payment (down payment) along with a monthly fee that also includes routine maintenance and roadside assistance.

The new leader of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party is flexing his powers in his picks for the lineup of party executives.

Suga Yoshihide has filled key posts with veteran lawmakers from the five LDP factions that backed his campaign.

The Bank of Japan has launched a task force to study issuing a digital currency, as such money becomes increasingly popular around the world.

The move comes after government economic guidelines called on the BOJ to examine the feasibility of a digital currency that can be exchanged through smartphones.

Nissan has introduced the facelifted Kicks to its home market, where it will go on sale from June 30, priced from 2,759,900 yen ($24,845).

The lockdown has caused not only financial strain on the world, but also on the mental and physical well-being of people who might otherwise be going out socializing, exercising, and so on. If you’re going a little stir crazy at home right now, the good news is that if you own the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has recently released a free game for you all.

The company has announced a free title called the Jump Rope Challenge. This is pretty much as its name suggests, where players will be able to jump rope using their Joy-Cons to emulate the experience of jumping rope. According to Nintendo, this game was developed by developers who were working from home in Japan to help incorporate some physical movement in their life while making it a fun and social game.

Aikawa Nanase has launched an official YouTube channel. 

On her channel, you can now watch the music videos for her singles released during the 1990s including "Yumemiru Shoujo ja Irarenai," "Hatsukoi," "BREAK OUT!," and "Sweet Emotion." 

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has started selling a coronavirus testing kit for use by companies and organizations in Tokyo and the four neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Ibaraki.

The firm says the kit, launched on Monday, is being offered as a "risk assessment option to those who show no specific symptoms but are concerned about the spread of the virus."

Nakagawa Shoko is the next Japanese celebrity to launch a YouTube channel amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Too much time free time with nothing to do? Toyota comes to the rescue with a series of templates that can be cut and glued together to create miniature GT86 paper models.

One of the best racing games of the previous generation of game consoles (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC), "Burnout Paradise" got a visual remaster and re-release a couple of years ago for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. This year, it gets added to one more system, the Nintendo Switch, so you can enjoy the fast paced vehicular destruction anywhere.

Besides offering high-speed fun on the go, "Burnout Paradise Remastered" coming to the Switch is significant because this is the first time it will have been available for a Nintendo console. With the original release, Nintendo's only home console, the Wii, didn't have the digital horsepower to handle the high-definition graphics of the then-new Burnout game. So publisher EA and developer Criterion Games didn't create a version for the system. The remaster skipped the Nintendo Wii U, too, which considering the system's sales, wasn't a terrible idea. So this marks the first time for Nintendo loyalists to play the game.

Kimura Takuya and Kudo Shizuka's eldest daughter Cocomi has launched an Instagram account. In her first post, she announced that she has been appointed as the Japanese ambassador of Dior and will be on the cover of 'VOGUE JAPAN' that's due out on March 28. 

She first greeted, "Everyone, nice to meet you. I'm Cocomi. Please treat me kindly!" On shooting the 'VOGUE JAPAN' cover, she commented, "It was such a wonderful experience. Thank you very much!" 

Former Keyakizaka46 member Hirate Yurina has launched her official website. 

Hirate passed Keyakizaka46's first generation audition in August of 2015 and had been the center for every one of the group's singles until she withdrew from the group this January. Since then, fans have been wondering about her future activities.

Officials with Japan's biggest trade union group say the coronavirus outbreak is causing a great deal of anxiety for workers. They say that in response to the growing number of inquiries they've been getting on the matter, they've set up a dedicated hotline to answer questions.

The officials say in recent weeks they've been receiving more and more calls, mainly from contract and part-time staff.