Two-hour coronavirus test to be made available at Narita airport

The facility will offer negative test certificates and will be able to process 700 people per day.

Japan department store sales fall at faster pace in September

Department store sales dropped at a faster pace in September than in August amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed Thursday.Same-store sales plunged 33.6% in ...

FamilyMart shareholders approve Itochu taking convenience store private

FamilyMart Co. shareholders on Thursday approved a plan for trading house Itochu Corp. to take the convenience store operator private as the coronavirus pandemic prompts ...

Five takeaways from the Australia-Japan defense ministers’ joint statement

For Japan, it provides a standard for which other potential security partners like the U.K., Canada and the Philippines can follow.

2-hour virus test to be available at Narita airport near Tokyo

CHIBA, Japan - A coronavirus testing center will open next month at Narita airport near Tokyo, enabling departing t...

7 American USFK personnel test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in S. Korea

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- Seven American service members have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea from the United States this month, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Four of them arrived at Osan Air Base

Another parcel delivery worker dies apparently from overwork

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- A parcel delivery worker died while on duty this week, the latest in a series of couriers' deaths largely blamed on overwork amid an industry boom due to the coronavirus. An advocacy group said Thursday that Kang Doo-han,

Japan researchers show masks block coronavirus, but not perfectly

A cotton mask reduced viral uptake by up to 40% compared with no mask. An N95 mask blocked up to 90%.

Jeju Air joins rivals' push for plane conversion for cargo

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Thursday it will carry cargo using a passenger jet to offset a sharp decline in air travel demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jeju Air plans to deploy a B737-80

(2nd LD) Local virus cases at 1-month high, cluster infections biggest hurdle in virus fight

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout; CHANGES photos) SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The number of daily local coronavirus cases in South Korea spiked again to over 100 for the first time in nearly one month Thursday, as sporadic cluster infections

Japan weighs easing coronavirus rule for short business trips from abroad

Japan is considering exempting businesspeople entering Japan on a 72-hour or less short stay from the country's quarantine period requirement, provided they follow certain COVID-19 ...

S. Korea to provide US$300,000 worth of aid to flood-hit Vietnam

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to provide US$300,000 worth of humanitarian assistance to Vietnam to help the country cope with the damage from severe floods, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Flooding triggered by weekslong heavy do

Facial recognition planned to halt coronavirus spread during Tokyo Olympics

Japan plans to use facial recognition technology, originally intended for security purposes, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus when it hosts the Tokyo ...

Another Army soldier tests positive for new coronavirus

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- An Army officer has tested positive for the new coronavirus at a unit near Seoul, the defense ministry said Thursday. The soldier stationed in Yangju, north of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 the previous

(URGENT) S. Korea report 121 more cases of new coronavirus. total now at 25,543: KDCA

(Yonhap Feature) Slammed by pandemic, small business owners live off debt -- until they can't

By Woo Jae-yeon SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged small businesses around the country. But nowhere in the country is the devastation more visible than in Myeongdong, the popular shopping district among foreign travelers in

(URGENT) S. Korea reports 3 additional coronavirus deaths, death total now at 453: KDCA

(URGENT) 63 more patients released from coronavirus treatment, total now at 23,674: KDCA

Local virus cases at 1-month high; cluster infections biggest hurdle in virus fight

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The number of daily local coronavirus cases in South Korea spiked again to over 100 for the first time in nearly one month Thursday, as sporadic cluster infections at nursing homes and other facilities continued to climb amid

(LEAD) Local virus cases at 1-month high, cluster infections biggest hurdle in virus fight

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 3, 11; ADDS photo) SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The number of daily local coronavirus cases in South Korea spiked again to over 100 for the first time in nearly one month Thursday, as sporadic cluster infections