A museum in Hiroshima that documents the 1945 atomic bombing of the city has been temporarily closed amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is one of 45 facilities in the western Japanese city that officials have decided to temporarily close to reduce personal contact.
The Japanese government says it's planning on temporarily lifting import tariffs on disposable gloves made of vinyl chloride. The goal is to make it easier for medical institutions to protect frontline workers against the coronavirus.
Most of the gloves used in Japan are imported and face a range of tariffs depending on where they are made. Chinese manufacturers account for nearly 80 percent of the market and typically face a tariff of nearly 5 percent.
It's been reported that Snow Man member Iwamoto Hikaru (26) will temporarily suspend his activities. On the March 27th issue of weekly tabloid magazine 'FRIDAY,' it was reported that Iwamoto consumed alcoholic beverages with a minor back when he was a Johnny's Jr. member in November 2017.
A statement was released on Johnny & Associates' official website, stating, "We sincerely apologize to all of our fans and supporters for causing worries and troubles due to the article that was published the other day. We are truly sorry that such reports surfaced during these unstable times caused by the new coronavirus."
Following the closure of car factories by Ford, GM, FCA and Honda, another group of automakers is shutting down plants in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus threat. Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai have all announced they will be closing production facilities temporarily. The number of plants and the length of time closed varies significantly between companies, though.
Nissan, in a move similar to the American automakers, will shut down all U.S. factories starting Friday. The planned reopening of those plants is April 6. The company reports no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its factory employees and that this is a precautionary measure.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will ask all elementary and high schools across the country to temporarily close beginning Monday.
The development comes after a man in his 80s who was infected with the new coronavirus died in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Fifteen new cases of infection were reported there on Thursday.