Playwright and director Setoyama Misaki. A survey of workers in Japan's entertainment industry shows that more than 30% of respondents said they had thoughts of death due to the impact of the coronavirus. Read
Munehiro Nakamichi, a judicial scrivener and head of Anti-Poverty Network Gunma, a group of legal experts and welfare workers in the prefecture, who have been offering free consultation services for people struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read
An official of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party which plans to establish a panel to consider measures to address the issue of loneliness, which they claim is emerging as a serious public health challenge amid the spread of the coronavirus. Read
Yu Uchiyama, a professor of political science at the University of Tokyo. He says that with poll numbers falling as sharply as coronavirus cases are rising, questions are emerging as to whether Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga might join the long list of Japanese leaders forced out after short stints. Read
A PR spokesperson for Global Dining, operator of popular restaurant Gompachi and other eateries, which is not complying with the government's business-hour requests to close its 30 restaurants at 8 p. m. in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures. Read
Communications minister Ryota Takeda, urging NHK to further lower viewing fees. Read
Taichi Aoki, manager of Tower Records Japan's Shinjuku outlet in Tokyo. The vinyl record floor, which opened in March 2019 in response to rising demand, sells about 70,000 items. Vinyl music records are regaining popularity in Japan with annual production reaching some 1.22 million units in 2019, up roughly 12-fold… Read
Shoji Morimoto, 37, who says he rents himself out to other people as a companion for 10,000 yen "to eat and drink, and give simple feedback, but do nothing more." Read
Nobuhiko Okabe, 74, former director of the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and currently, director general of the Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health. He is also a special advisor to the cabinet on anti-virus measures. Read
Hosei University law professor Tomoyuki Mizuno. A year after former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn's escape from house arrest in Japan, Tokyo continues to grapple with the question of how to keep defendants from jumping bail, with electronic monitoring among the top proposals. Read