The city of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, has lost a USB device containing the personal information of more than 460,000 residents.
Municipal officials revealed on Thursday that a company worker lost the memory stick on Tuesday. The city had asked the firm to carry out the task of paying subsidies to households hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
People in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa observe on Thursday the 77th anniversary of the end of fierce ground battles fought in the closing days of World War Two.
The fighting between Japanese and US forces in 1945 on Okinawa's islands left more than 200,000 people dead. One in four local residents lost their life.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has been studying possible risks to the country's food supply and has identified the war in Ukraine as the most serious threat.
The ministry says in a report released on Tuesday that Russia's invasion of one of the world's biggest grain exporters is a significant risk to food security.
Campaigning has officially started for Japan's Upper House election. Voters head to the polls in about two-and-a-half weeks. Party leaders are already making their pitches to the public.
Liberal Democratic Party President and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said, "In the wake of Russia's aggression in Ukraine, we will confirm whether we are fully prepared to protect our country, and the lives and livelihoods of our people. We will do this carefully by reviewing the national security strategy, Japan's basic defense plan. Prices are surging on a global scale due to the Russian aggression. In other words, this emergency is why costs are soaring. We will resolutely carry out specialized measures to support the energy sector, as well as the food sector. I would like you to make a firm decision on who should be given the task of achieving political stability, to overcome these challenges, and open up the future."
The Japanese government has convened a panel of experts to set the direction for nurturing cutting-edge technologies that are vital to the nation's economic security.
The move is part of a plan to promote public-private projects in areas including artificial intelligence and quantum mechanics.
The owner of an Austrian castle which is home to a collection of Japanese Old Imari porcelain has visited Japan and called for peace and friendship. Much of the collection was damaged by the former Soviet military after World War Two.
Gabriel Piatti owns Loosdorf Castle, which is located in the suburbs of Vienna. He is visiting Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan, to deliver a speech at the Kyushu Ceramic Museum.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has applied for Japanese government approval to administer coronavirus booster shots to children aged 5 to 11.
Children in that age group in Japan have been receiving the Pfizer vaccine since March of this year. As of Tuesday, 16.2 percent of them had received two shots.
Campaigning is now officially underway in Japan's Upper House election. Voting day is set for July 10. It's being seen as a barometer of public opinion on the current government nine months in.
Candidates are expected to debate how to deal with surging prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Foreign and security policies are likely to be other key topics in their campaigns.
The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has reported on the achievements and agenda of the 2020 Games and hope to promote the lessons learned in Tokyo.
The committee submitted its official report on the Games to an executive board meeting in Tokyo, on Tuesday.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has confirmed that five Russian navy ships sailed into the Sea of Japan, after passing through the Tsushima Strait on Tuesday morning.
The strait is an international waterway where foreign ships including warships, are allowed to navigate.
Japan's communications ministry has drawn up a report on possible impacts of large-scale eruptions on the surface of the sun called "solar flares," such as disruptions in wireless communications.
Solar activity has a cycle and is likely to intensify around 2025, when solar flares are expected to increase.
Hundreds of candidates in Japan's Upper House election are officially kicking off their campaigns Wednesday.
Election day is two and a half weeks away.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will attend a review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to be held at the UN headquarters in New York in August.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu told reporters on Tuesday that Kishida will become the first Japanese prime minister to take part in a review conference of the NPT.
Japan's government is planning four-way and three-way summit meetings with the United States and other Asia-Pacific nations on the sidelines of a NATO leaders' gathering in Spain.
The two top-level meetings under consideration include one between the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. They have been invited as partners to the NATO summit scheduled for late this month in Madrid.