Tokyo Metropolitan Government sources say 15 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on Monday.

The total number of infections in Tokyo now stands at 4,883.

Japan's health authorities say the country saw 65 new cases of the coronavirus and eight deaths on Sunday.

The number of confirmed infections stands at 15,842.

Health authorities in Japan have confirmed the first death from the coronavirus in the country's northeastern Tohoku region.

The Miyagi prefectural government said on Saturday the deceased had received treatment after testing positive for the virus.

Japan's health authorities reported 25 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, the highest daily death toll so far.

A total of 276 people have died in Japan, including 13 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama in February.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials say 91 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the capital on Monday, bringing the total to 2,158.

It marks the first time in six days that fewer than 100 new cases have been confirmed in the city. Seventy-nine new daily cases were reported last Tuesday.

Japanese health authorities say more than 80 people have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus on Sunday so far, bringing Japan's total to over 1,800.

A low pressure system and a cold air mass brought unseasonal snow to Tokyo on Sunday.

Japan has reported 200 coronavirus infection cases in a day for the first time.

Tokyo confirmed a record 63 cases on Saturday. Neighboring Chiba Prefecture also reported more than 60 cases. That figure includes 57 cases connected to a facility for people with disabilities.

Consumer Reports is out with its top 10 picks for best cars of the year, with increased emphasis for 2020 on safety technologies and its rankings based for the first time on price point rather than segment categories. Models from Asian brands cleaned up, with the Tesla Model 3 as the lone entrant from an American automaker on the list and the controversial Toyota Supra making an appearance.

Among 33 brands tested, Porsche was named top vehicle brand, with Genesis staying at No. 2 and Subaru dropping two places to third.

Officials in the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido say three more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the region.

The three include two male elementary school students in Nakafurano Town. The other is a woman in her 40s. She lives in Chitose City. The woman was working as a quarantine officer at New Chitose Airport.

Japan's health authorities confirmed seven new cases of coronavirus infection on Thursday. That brings the total number of patients outside passengers and crew from the ship to over 90.

Among the new cases, a man in his 80s has tested positive in Kanagawa. He had been staying at a hospital where an elderly woman who died from the virus had received care.

Nissan Motor Co CEO Makoto Uchida holds a news conference on earnings Feb. 13 at the company's headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. / Reuters

 

Japan's health ministry says a woman in her 80s living in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, has died after contracting the new coronavirus.

It is the first confirmed case of infection in Japan that resulted in death.

PARIS — Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said on Thursday there was a "real desire" within the top ranks of both companies for its alliance with Nissan to succeed, dismissing suggestions the partnership was on the rocks. Turmoil within the Franco-Japanese alliance, long dogged by internal rivalries, deepened following the November 2018 arrest in Tokyo of its architect and long-time boss Carlos Ghosn on charges of financial crimes, which he denies. Attempts to restore calm were dealt a fresh blow by Ghosn's dramatic flight from Japanese justice and a series of no-holds-barred allegations he has made from his refuge in Lebanon, including that he was the victim of a plot to oust him and that the alliance is now a "masquerade". Nissan has vigorously rejected Ghosn's stance, while both the Japanese firm and Renault have tried to rubbish suggestions their two decades old partnership is falling apart. "We have a board overseeing the alliance which is made up of people who are all extremely in favor of the alliance," Renault Chairman Senard told a briefing with reporters. "There is a common desire to associate our strategic plans and a real desire to make this alliance a success," he added, dismissing a report that Nissan was examining scenarios for a possible future outside of the alliance as "fake news." The 66-year-old declined to comment on anything related to Ghosn, adding: "I only think about the future." Renault shares were down 2% by 1123 GMT, underperfoming the broader auto sector which was down on news that Washington has threatened to impose tariffs on European car imports due to Europe's stance on Iran. Renault's French rival and Peugeot maker PSA Group also gave a flavor of some industry headwinds, reporting a 10% fall in its global sales last year as Chinese demand tanked. Renault is due to publish its 2019 global sales on Friday.

JOINT PROJECTS

Analysts see Renault-Nissan's cost-saving alliance as vital to both companies as the car industry battles a slowdown and huge investments in cleaner vehicles and automated driving, particularly as rivals PSA and Fiat Chrysler are merging to help meet these challenges. Renault held ultimately unsuccessful talks to combine with Fiat Chrysler last year, which Ghosn described at a Beirut news conference as a huge missed opportunity. Senard, who chairs the alliance's operating board, said on Thursday that once the partnership has been rebooted, other firms might potentially want to join. The executive, who used to run tyre maker Michelin, has become the de facto senior figure in Renault and Nissan's alliance, though without Ghosn's commander-in-chief aura, which had helped hold it together. While that is partly deliberate — both parties are keen to avoid another strongman situation and created a four-member operating board to oversee the alliance — Senard will now have to show he can push through new joint projects. He declined to give details of these beyond saying potential cost savings could be substantial, and that the alliance's board would meet soon to decide on its industrial plan. The meeting is scheduled for Jan. 30, a source close to Renault said. The firms are meanwhile finalizing a management revamp, with Renault close to appointing a new CEO after ousting Ghosn-ally Thierry Bollore in October. A new CEO started at Nissan in December. Luca de Meo, who recently stepped down as the head of Volkswagen's Seat brand, is seen as the frontrunner for the Renault job, although a non-compete clause in his contract is proving a problem, sources have said. Interim CEO Clotilde Delbos is also in the frame. Senard said shaking up the shareholder structure in the alliance was not a priority for either side. Renault, which is part-owned by the French state, has 43% of Nissan, while the Japanese firm has 15% of the French carmaker, with no voting rights attached — a structure that has caused friction.