Of all the sporty compact cars out there, the 2020 Honda Civic Type R would seem to be the one that would have the most obnoxious exhaust note. It has oodles of scoops and vents, a towering rear wing and fat fender flares. And yet, as we discovered in the above video, it's actually soft-spoken.

The video showcases start up, moderate acceleration, downshifting during deceleration, full-throttle acceleration, and free revving, in that order. The overall volume in all situations is low, which is a bit of a shame, because the tone itself is pleasant. It's a smooth, slightly bass-y note shared with many factory performance Hondas. Perhaps that's not so surprising since the Type R still uses a variant of the venerable K-series four-cylinder to make its 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Stay tuned for more details on the new Type R in our upcoming first drive review.

Japan's state of emergency due to coronavirus outbreak continues to bring an unusual quiet to roads, transportation and tourist spots in the holiday period that began in late April.

On Saturday, the first day of the five-day consecutive holiday, popular destinations in Tokyo are almost deserted as people respond to calls to stay home.

City streets and tourist hot spots in Japan are quiet on the first weekend since a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak was expanded nationwide.

The famous sand dunes of Tottori Prefecture, in western Japan, were largely free of people on Saturday.

Downtowns across Japan were quiet on Saturday, the first weekend since the government declared the state of emergency in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

There were few people on Takeshita Street in Tokyo's Harajuku district, usually bustling with young people.

The declaration of a coronavirus emergency in the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido has brought an abrupt halt to public activities. Streets are quiet in the prefectural capital Sapporo, one day after the measure came into effect.

Governor Naomichi Suzuki on Friday declared the three-week emergency period through March 19. He urged residents to refrain from going out over this weekend.