Japan's top government spokesperson has suggested that police could inspect bars and nightclubs to check if they are taking strict measures against the coronavirus.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide spoke to reporters on Monday about how to deal with bars and nightclubs where cases of the virus have been confirmed.

Japan's defense white paper warns that the coronavirus pandemic may expose competition among countries seeking to expand their influence.

The annual report was presented at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. It says China has been making "propaganda efforts" amid growing social uncertainty and confusion caused by the spread of infections.

A report out of Japan claims that a limited-run version of the Toyota Supra will sport the same powertrain as the upcoming BMW M3 and M4.

A lingering seasonal rain front may bring torrential downpours in western and eastern Japan through Friday.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says warm, damp air is flowing toward the seasonal rain front, destabilizing atmospheric conditions and causing rain clouds to develop in Shikoku, Kinki and elsewhere.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it has confirmed 60 new cases of coronavirus in the capital on Sunday. The figure is the largest since the state of emergency was lifted on May 25 in the capital.

Tokyo authorities say the infected people are in their teens to their 70s, with some ranging as high as 90 years and older. They add that people in their 20s and 30s account for three out of four of the newly confirmed cases.

Japan's railway operator is concerned that the planned opening of a super-fast magnetically levitated train system may be delayed due to a dispute with a local government.

Central Japan Railway, or JR Tokai, is planning to launch the next-generation railway service between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. It will later be extended to Osaka.

Japan's health minister has indicated the government is considering scaling down its annual ceremony in August commemorating the war-dead.

Kato Katsunobu told reporters on Tuesday that full precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Japan will veto Lebanon's $10 billion bailout request if decision-makers in the Middle Eastern nation don't deport former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, according to lawyers. He famously fled Japan, where he was under house arrest, and landed in Lebanon, where he was raised, by boarding a private jet in a box in 2019.

Ghosn's cunning plan — which he orchestrated with the help of a former Green Beret arrested in 2020 — was worthy of a James Bond movie, but it didn't take Lebanon's financial difficulties into account. Inflation is rising, unemployment is growing, food is becoming increasingly expensive and the country's public debt hovers in the vicinity of $90 billion. Banks are also running out of dollars, which the business sector pressingly needs to pay for imported goods. Government officials began negotiating the terms of a $10 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May 2020, and Ghosn may unexpectedly find himself in the middle of the talks.

The 2021 Acura TLX will revive the sporty Type S model after a 10-year moratorium, and this time around, it's getting a turbocharged V6, further setting it apart from other sedans in the Honda corporate family. 

Acura says the new TLX will draw heavily upon the styling shown on two of its recent concepts: the Precision, which was shown in 2016, and the Type S, which was shown last year. The evolution of the styling is obvious even from Acura's darkened teaser image, which depicts a slightly more curvaceous take on 2019's Type S while retaining most of the same key design elements, including the quad-outlet exhaust and pronounced underbody diffuser.

The Japanese government plans to decide on Thursday whether to lift a state of emergency ahead of schedule in parts of the country.

Restrictions may be eased in more than 30 prefectures where coronavirus infections have declined.

Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says clinical trials of a vaccine for the coronavirus are expected to begin in the country as early as July.

Abe made the disclosure at a Lower House Budget Committee session on Monday.

More people appear to be commuting to work in Tokyo, despite the Japanese government's extended state of emergency declaration over the coronavirus.

The government issued the declaration on April 7 for Tokyo and six other prefectures, and has since extended it nationwide. People are still being encouraged to stay indoors, work from home and stagger commuting hours.

Japan's government says it may lift the nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak before the planned end date of May 31. This would apply to some of the 13 prefectures now under special alert, as well as many other prefectures.

The government plans to discuss the matter at a meeting of its expert panel on Thursday.

Japan's government says it may lift the nationwide state of emergency regarding the coronavirus outbreak before the planned end date of May 31 in many of the 34 prefectures that are not under special alert.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said on an NHK program on Sunday the government will consider lifting the emergency declaration after listening to the opinions of an expert panel next week.