Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has started selling a coronavirus testing kit for use by companies and organizations in Tokyo and the four neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Ibaraki.
The firm says the kit, launched on Monday, is being offered as a "risk assessment option to those who show no specific symptoms but are concerned about the spread of the virus."
Police in Kobe, western Japan, say a station chief and his deputy have contracted the coronavirus. The two officers had attended a welcome party at a pub late last month.
A total of 10 infections have now been confirmed at Kobe Nishi Police Station. Some of the officers had attended the party for the new station chief.
The 2020 Toyota Highlander is bigger than the model it replaces, growing some 2.36 inches in overall length. All of that pretty much went to its very end, as the cargo area aft of the third row sees the only significant increase of interior space, growing to 16.0 cubic feet from 13.8.
Sounds good, but when you look at the 2020 Highlander versus these primary competitors, you'll see that 16.0 is still smaller than them all. And it's behind that third row where extra cubic feet can really make the difference, where one bag might be left behind or you'll have to resort to a rooftop carrier. By contrast, the Highlander's space with the third or second rows lowered is seemingly on par for the segment, as by those metrics, all entries are basically various degrees of enormous.
Infiniti is slowly coming round to the modern age of infotainment systems this year, and our first taste of that is in the 2020 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400. This performance coupe has an updated system in it that, while it looks a whole lot like it did before, represents a step forward for Infiniti.
Most importantly, Infiniti has finally added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality for 2020. Every new 2020 model year car should ship with the smartphone connection technology baked in, and Infiniti has finally gotten with the program this year on nearly all of its cars (QX60 is the holdout). The delay might have something to do with Nissan/Infiniti's reluctance to share customer data to Apple and Google, or perhaps Infiniti was waiting to roll out a broader interface update, but either way, the hardware they've applied it to would seem to be the same as before.
The Kia Telluride has received a lot of deserved attention for its luxurious cabin that looks great and is put together using higher-end materials than is expected for the non-luxury three-row crossover segment. However, after spending time in the range-topping 2020 Toyota Highlander Platinum, I think that its materials and construction are just as good, possibly better.
The earthy two-tone color scheme is distinctive, warm and generally inviting. The silver trim that wraps around the control binnacle like a fork is textured to make it look richer and more like actual metal. The wood trim on the dash and center console, be it real or not, is subtle and tasteful. The padded SofTex vinyl that covers much of the dash, doors and center console is pleasant to touch, while the real leather on the seats is buttery soft. All the switchgear is top notch, and I've already extolled the virtues of the widescreen infotainment system.
The 2020 Toyota Highlander is the first vehicle to receive the newest and biggest touchscreen available in the company's expansive lineup. Measuring 12.3 inches diagonally, it is a widescreen unit, which matches the size offered in the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade. It is also the same size as that found in many Lexus vehicles, but that isn't a touchscreen — it's exclusively controlled by the perpetual punching bag that is the Remote Touch touchpad. Advantage Highlander.
The above video goes into detail about how the extra size is put to good use, and specifically, the widescreen design.
NHK has learned that three Japanese professional baseball players have tested positive for the coronavirus. They are the country's first baseball players known to be infected.
Among them is Shintaro Fujinami of the Hanshin Tigers. He was reportedly tested on Thursday after consulting with a doctor. He had been complaining of being unable to smell the aroma of coffee for several days.
Five Japanese people have tested positive for the new coronavirus after returning from Italy, Spain, and France.
The five were tested at quarantine stations at Haneda Airport in Tokyo or Narita Airport, near the capital, on Friday.
The 2020 Mazda CX-30 is pretty much a lifted Mazda3 hatchback. Same platform, awfully similar dimensions, and the interior's a spitting image (if not identical). Ditto cargo capacity. On paper, the two have virtually the same amount of space behind their raised back seats, with the CX-30 at 20.2 cubic-feet and the 3 with just a teensy less at 20.1.
Now, before I go any further, let's see how much that 20.1 cubic-feet relates to in the Mazda3. I wasn't yet doing this test format back then, hence the video.
The Japanese health minister says he expects the country's capability to test people for the new coronavirus will top 7,000 a day by the end of this month.
Katsunobu Kato made the comment on an NHK talk show on Sunday.
Test runs on a section of railway line along the Pacific coast of Fukushima Prefecture have started nine years after service was halted by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
The accident caused radioactive contamination and suspended service on the 21-kilometer-section of Japan Rail's Joban Line between Namie and Tomioka stations.
Japan's health ministry says it expects a medical test for the new coronavirus to cost 18,000 yen, or about 166 dollars, per person with public insurance.
Ministry officials gave the estimate at a briefing Friday for representatives of medical institutions, inspection companies and universities.
The Japanese government says it has developed technology that can determine whether a person has the new coronavirus in just 15 minutes.
The device is made by a Japanese pharmaceutical company. A government official says the virus can be detected with new technology developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
A former crew member of a Japanese fishing boat exposed to the nuclear fallout from a 1954 US nuclear test in the Pacific has died.
Masaho Ikeda died of stomach cancer in a hospital in Fujieda City in Shizuoka Prefecture on Thursday. He was 87 years old. His relatives say he had also suffered esophagus and liver cancer.