The Japanese government plans to make a coronavirus contact-tracing app available by the end of this month.

The app records the data of smartphones that come within a certain distance of each other. People will then be alerted if they have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with the virus.

Toyota alchemized the newest Yaris into a street-legal, 268-horsepower pocket rocket in order to homologate it in the World Rally Championship (WRC). It's not going to sell the model here, partly because our Yaris is completely different from the one sold abroad, but it hinted there's a second, America-bound hot hatch in the pipeline.

"While the GR Yaris isn't coming to the United States, perhaps it's time the United States got a Toyota hot hatch to call its own. One that continues to push the boundaries of performance. And one that can only come from Toyota Gazoo Racing," the company wrote on a page of its American website dedicated to the rally-bred Yaris. It also posted the same message — and a photo of the GR Yaris going sideways — on its official Twitter account.

Nissan will pull back from Europe and elsewhere to focus on the United States, China and Japan under a plan that represents a new strategic direction for the embattled carmaker, people with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

The "operational performance plan" is due to be announced on May 28 and goes beyond fixing problems from ousted leader Carlos Ghosn's aggressive expansion drive, the people said.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says his government plans to decide on Monday to extend the nationwide state of emergency for about a month.

The measure, taken in response to the coronavirus outbreak, is due to expire on Wednesday, May 6.

TOKYO — Nissan plans to slash the number of cars it produces at home in May by 78% from last year, as the impact of the coronavirus shakes the troubled automaker which has already been struggling with falling sales.

As global automakers reel from plunging sales amid lockdowns imposed in many countries to curb the spread of the virus, the hit is particularly severe for Nissan, whose profitability has been deteriorating as it grapples with the turmoil that followed the ousting of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says he plans to provide a blanket cash handout of 100,000 yen, or about 930 dollars, per person as part of economic measures to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Abe conveyed his plan to the head of junior coalition partner Komeito, Yamaguchi Natsuo, over the phone on Thursday. Abe said he intends to alter the government's supplementary budget proposal for fiscal 2020 to secure the necessary funding.

TOKYO/BEIJING — Nissan Motor Co's management has become convinced the struggling automaker needs to be much smaller, and a restructuring plan due out next month would likely assume a cut of 1 million cars to its annual sales target, senior company sources said.

Even before the spread of the coronavirus, Nissan's sales and profits had been slumping and it was burning through cash, forcing it to row back on an aggressive expansion plan pursued by ousted leader Carlos Ghosn. The pandemic has only piled on urgency and pressure to renewed efforts to downsize.

While the coronavirus has majorly disrupted practically every automaker and supplier in the world, some things are still going according to plan. During a roundtable discussion, Nissan representatives said that the 2020 Nissan Frontier with the new 3.8-liter engine is still on track to go on sale this spring. No adjustments have been made to the introduction of the next-generation 2021 Frontier either, which should be revealed by the end of the year. In fact, Nissan's representatives mentioned that next-generation Frontier prototypes are on their way to the U.S. for additional testing.

As has been mentioned previously, the big draw of the 2020 Nissan Frontier is that it gets the same 3.8-liter V6 and 9-speed automatic transmission as the redesigned 2021 truck. It's 93% different from the slightly larger displacement 4.0-liter engine of the old truck, and it's substantially more efficient and powerful. Despite the major changes, Nissan's powertrain expert who was leading the roundtable confirmed that it is still part of the VQ series of engines, which has been around since at least the Nissan 350Z, and a 3.7-liter version is used in the current 370Z. The powertrain expert also explained that the truck's increased efficiency is a result of multiple factors. In part, the engine is more efficient all around because of improved design, but it's also lighter than the old 4.0-liter engine.

Japan's government plans to declare a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak for Tokyo and six other prefectures as early as Tuesday.

The government will hear opinions from an advisory panel before issuing the declaration that will be based on a recently enacted law.

Toyota will extend the current shutdown of all its plants in North America for an addition two weeks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and decline in vehicle demand. The Japanese automaker will keep all assembly and component parts plants in Canada, Mexico and the United States closed through April 17.

"The manufacturing facilities will remain closed through April 17, resuming production on April 20," the company said in a statement. "Our service parts depots and vehicle logistics centers will continue to operate. We will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action in a timely manner."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has laid out his government's plans to fight the new coronavirus. He discussed a newly enacted law that allows him to declare a state of emergency, if needed.

Abe said "This legislation is to prepare for emergencies. When the administration determines whether to declare a state of emergency, that would put restraint on various private rights. It will seek for recommendation from experts in making the decision carefully. Currently, the number of infections is still rising. However, the increase speed is slower compared with other countries where the speed of infection in accelerating. Given the situation, it is not necessary to declare a state of emergency now."

Japan's government is planning to send a fifth chartered plane to evacuate Japanese citizens from the Chinese province of Hubei which has been hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters on Monday that arrangements are underway to send the plane this weekend at the earliest.

Japan is scrambling to make arrangements for citizens seeking to get out of Wuhan, a Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

Officials want workers to notify the government of their plans to stay or go.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the government will evacuate nationals who want to leave the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak.

Abe told reporters on Sunday that the government worked through the weekend to determine whether citizens want to leave Wuhan, and to examine ways to take them out of the city, which is under lockdown.