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Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he is considering declaring a state of emergency over the coronavirus in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures.

Dictionary company Sanseido had a lot of strong contenders for its annual Word of the Year contest, as a lot of new words sprung up into everyday conversation like "lockdown" and "social distance." But, the chosen word for 2020 was still a big surprise!

When the pandemic hit, Japanese artist Keiko Miyamori found herself stuck in New York, missing exhibitions in Japan. As a way to keep her spirits strong, she created tree rubbings, placing them in charming glass boxes. Check out the fruits of her labors.

An app is helping to facilitate communication in the new normal for the hearing impaired, the elderly, and people who speak different languages.

A mural by Eisuke Tachikawa is helping visitors to the Minato Mirai Hall stay socially distant while possibly getting the first few notes of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie stuck in their head.

For all those who took up painting as a therapeutic way to pass the pandemic, now you can take it up a notch with scented paints called Kanogu.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer asked the Japanese government for approval to manufacture and sell its coronavirus vaccine in the country.

As he does every December 12, the head abbot of Kiyomizudera Temple took his usual place in front of a blank board on the site’s famous balcony, raised a large brush, and began the strokes that revealed the top character for 2020.