Officials in Japan reported a record 2,596 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday.

Twelve people in six prefectures died of the disease, including three in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

Officials in Japan reported a record 2,586 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday.

Twelve people in 6 prefectures died of the disease, including three in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

The number of new cases of coronavirus in Japan hit a record of 2,560 on Saturday including Osaka Prefecture with 415, also a record high.

The animated movie "Kimetsu no Yaiba," or "Demon Slayer," has earned 20 billion yen in its first 24 days in theaters across Japan. It reached the milestone much faster than the 59 days it took the 2001 animated fantasy film "Spirited Away."

The film's distributor, Toho, says more than 15.3 million people watched the movie in theaters from October 16 to Sunday. It raked in 20.4 billion yen, or nearly 200 million dollars.

This year has seen a record high number of days that Chinese government ships have sailed just outside Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The Japan Coast Guard said that as of 9:00 a.m. on Monday, four Chinese vessels were sailing in waters off Kubashima, one of the Senkakus. The area is in the contiguous zone just outside of Japan's territorial waters.

The Japan Coast Guard reports that two Chinese patrol ships have been in Japan's territorial waters for two days. This is the longest intrusion into the waters in eight years.

Officials say the two vessels entered the waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday and tried to approach a Japanese fishing boat.

Sony has formally unveiled the Xperia 5 II (Mark 2), which had been heavily leaked in the weeks leading up to today's launch. All of the leaks were spot on in terms of features and specifications, but what we didn't know was pricing and availability.

The IFA Berlin tradeshow is traditionally where Sony launches its new devices in the second half of the year. IFA is taking place from 3 – 5 September 2020, therefore it is not surprising to see the first renders leak of a new Xperia smartphone. Sony launched the Xperia 5 at IFA 2019, so it doesn't take huge elements of deduction to figure that the Xperia 5 II (Mark 2) is likely to arrive at IFA 2020.

People in Japan are observing a solemn 75th anniversary on Saturday, August 15, the day the country marks the end of World War Two and offers prayers for peace.

This year's events and rallies to mark the occasion across the country are being held with due precautions amid the continuing spread of the coronavirus.

Fireworks lit up the skies across Japan at 8 p.m. on Friday, which was to be the date of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics before it was postponed.

The Junior Chamber International Japan organized the displays with fireworks companies across the country, hoping they would signal a fresh start despite the coronavirus pandemic.

There is a lot of excitement for Sony's latest flagship device, the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2). Initial buzz for the device is strong, particularly for its camera capabilities. Even outside that though, the Xperia 1 II looks to be a solid all-rounder, ticking the box of many spec-sheet wishlists including 5G, wireless charging, headphone jack, good battery life, water resistance, great 4K OLED display and more.

This week, Toyota celebrated selling more than 15 million hybrids worldwide since 1997, 5 million of them in the past three years. It really began in 1993, when Toyota decided to develop a car that would be kinder on the environment. The car those engineers created, codenamed 890T, debuted at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show, an event bearing the theme, "Dream the Dream, a Car with That Feel." That car was called the Prius. Who could have known the homely yellow wonder, looking like it had been pulled straight from a Japanese anime of the time, would reshape the automotive industry. The Wikipedia entry for the 1995 show doesn't mention the Prius, although it does mention the Honda S2000 concept and the Subaru Streega concept, which became the Forester. The New York Times wrote, "The concept cars shown this year will probably not make Detroit quake with fear. But they show some flair nonetheless," one of two sentences covering the Prius stating simply, "Toyota is showing a sedan of the future called Prius that should be able to get 70 miles per gallon."

Sony fans are eagerly awaiting the launch date for its latest flagship, the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2). Sony has been vague about the release date ever since it was announced – the official launch date is ‘late Spring'. We understand that a late May/early June has always been in the offing, which is why we were surprised when Japanese carrier NTT docomo flagged an April release date for Sony's flagship.

Elementary school students in Tokyo's Suginami Ward have gathered in their schoolyard to mark the start of a new school year amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On Monday morning, Momoi Daini Elementary School held its opening ceremony in its schoolyard instead of its gymnasium to avoid crowding.