A survey by Japan's cultural affairs agency shows nearly half of respondents think it's necessary to use simple Japanese language for information on disasters and public services, as the country has an increasing number of foreign residents.

The agency conducts an annual survey on changes to the way the Japanese language is used. It focused for the first time this year on a national effort to use "Easy Japanese" to assist non-native speakers in times of disaster. Easy Japanese includes the use of short sentences, simple words and fewer kanji characters.

Hey! Say! JUMP's new song "Last Mermaid..." will be used as the theme song for TV drama 'Kaseifu no Mitazono' season 4. 

At the end of each episode, the drama's cast, including Matsuoka Masahiro (TOKIO) and Inoo Kei (Hey! Say! JUMP), will do a dance to "Last Mermaid..."

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.

Japan's government is set to ask residents in designated prefectures to refrain from travelling to other prefectures as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The government is set to revise its basic guidelines to deal with the outbreak. This comes as the prime minister is expected to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday.

Nissan is reportedly hard at work on the next-generation of its legendary Z car (although the company won't explicitly confirm), and we're hearing it will have a familiar look. Sources who have seen the upcoming sports car at dealer meetings told us it will feature heritage-inspired design. "They're going back to the roots of the car," one source told us.  The silhouette and general shape is similar to the current Z, but the design is all new. The front end mimics that of a 240Z with a square mouth and near-round headlights. Its rear taillights are meant to follow that of the 300ZX from the 1990s. On the inside, Nissan is finally going to move the Z into the new age. The 370Z doesn't even have a modern infotainment system today — where one might expect a screen, Nissan instead has a storage cubby. The next-gen Z will get an interior design similar to other new Nissans like the redesigned Altima and Sentra. Finally, it will get a real infotainment system. From a powertrain perspective, we're told that a version of the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Infiniti Q50/Q60 400 Red Sport will be pulled for duty. That engine is paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission only right now, but we're told a manual transmission will be offered alongside the automatic. As a reminder, Nissan did pair the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 with a manual in a 370Z SEMA show car previously, but it still hasn't seen a production application. As for a possible Nismo variant in the future, one of our sources also tells us it's likely that we'll see this version join the next-generation Z car eventually. Close to 500 horsepower is rumored for this specific flavor of Z. The 370Z, which is still a wonderfully fun car to drive, is fairly long in the tooth at this point. It's been on sale since 2009, and it's hard to tell the difference between one of those first models and a brand-new 2020 370Z. That's when you know it's time for a change. Stephanie Brinley, IHS Markit principal automotive analyst thinks Nissan needs to move along, too. "It's getting old. I think that some direction in the next couple years would be good. I think it'll get to the point that safety compliance issues will need to be addressed," Brinley told us. Nissan seems to want a change, too. We've seen spy shots of what could be a mule on the Nurburgring, and a previous Motor Trend report has essentially confirmed that the car is in the works and on the way. There's no hard date for a reveal at this point, but it's rumored to be a year and a half to two years out still. Nissan has given us a steadfast no comment on everything, but that's the usual for matters like this. We were told that Nissan has plans to introduce 12 new products in the next 20 months. There's a chance this is one of them, but we wouldn't doubt it if a low-profit sports car were delayed. As it gets closer to a final reveal, we'll be on the hunt for spy photos and every scrap of detail we can find on the next-gen Z. It'll be an exciting road, as this sports car is essential to the automaker's lineup. "It's part of Nissan's reputation. It's part of what makes Nissan, Nissan," Brinley says. We agree.

Renault and Nissan are denying recent media reports of a potential split, saying that the Alliance is safe and sound.

TOKYO/PARIS — Shares in Renault recovered some lost ground on Tuesday after the French carmaker and its Japanese partner Nissan rejected media reports that their alliance was in danger of being dissolved. Some have openly questioned whether the alliance can survive without disgraced former CEO Carlos Ghosn to keep the two partners happy.  Renault shares fell to a six-year low on Monday after rumors circulated that its alliance with Nissan was in jeopardy. Nissan shares tumbled to their lowest in 8½ years on Tuesday in Tokyo. At the opening of trading in Paris on Tuesday, Renault shares rose 1.3 percent, before falling back slightly to trade up 0.49 percent by 08:23 GMT. The alliance, which also includes Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, is "solid, robust, everything but dead," the chairman of Renault, Jean-Philippe Senard, told Belgian newspaper L'Echo. A split between the two automotive giants would force both to find new partners in a fast-consolidating industry that is growing increasingly difficult to navigate for independent companies. It will be especially difficult for Renault and Nissan, whose dirty laundry Ghosn intends to air for public consideration.   French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also weighed in, saying reports some executives wanted to break up the alliance were "malicious." Speaking to France's CNews TV, he also said he expected Renault to name a new chief executive within days to replace Thierry Bollore, a Ghosn-era appointee who was ousted in October. Luca de Meo, who stepped down as the head of Volkswagen's Seat brand last week, is seen as a frontrunner for the job, although a stringent non-compete clause in his contract firm may prove a hurdle, sources have told Reuters. Nissan, in response to "speculative international media reports," said it was "in no way considering dissolving the alliance." "The alliance is the source of Nissan's competitiveness," the Japanese automaker said in a statement. "Through the alliance, to achieve sustainable and profitable growth, Nissan will look to continue delivering win-win results for all member companies." Concerns emerged about the future of the Renault-Nissan partnership after the November 2018 arrest in Japan of Ghosn, the man who did more than anyone else to hold together the disparate alliance of often-contrasting carmaking cultures. Those worries were given new momentum after Ghosn last month fled Japan where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct -- which he denies --, flew to Lebanon, and told the media the alliance was riven with mistrust. A Financial Times report on Monday that Nissan executives were making contingency plans for a split with Renault appeared to accelerate a sell-off in the French manufacturer's shares.