British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca says it has applied for approval in Japan of its antibody drug for COVID-19 treatment and prevention.

Officials of the firm say the drug reduces the risks of severe COVID-19 and death, and helps prevent onset of the disease.

Japanese police have arrested two Chinese nationals for their alleged involvement in cheating on a university entrance exam in Tokyo by leaking test questions online.

Police arrested the two men, aged 22 and 28, over suspected cheating in the exam for international students that Hitotsubashi University held in January. They were arrested on suspicion of fraudulent obstruction of the university's business.

Lilies of the valley are in full bloom in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

The flowers began to blossom in Takino Suzuran Hillside Park, outside Sapporo City, late last month. "Suzuran" is Japanese for "lily of the valley."

NHK has learned that the Japanese and US governments are arranging to hold the first meeting of their foreign affairs and economic chiefs in Washington in late July under a new "two-plus-two" framework.

In January, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and US President Joe Biden agreed to launch two-plus-two economic talks. The two countries' officials are seeking to hold the first meeting in the US capital on July 29, among other plans.

A court hearing has started in central Japan for a lawsuit in which relatives of a Sri Lankan woman, who died in an immigration detention facility, are suing the Japanese government for damages following her death.

The hearing was held at the Nagoya District Court on Wednesday.

Tokyo police have arrested a Chinese national on suspicion of involvement in apparent cheating on a university entrance exam for foreign students this year.

NHK learned that another Chinese who allegedly provides homework assistance was asked to solve questions just before the exam of Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo in January.

Japan's Defense Ministry says four airplanes apparently belonging to the Russian military were observed flying directly toward Japan's airspace off its northern main island of Hokkaido on Tuesday night.

Ministry officials say the Self-Defense Forces described the move as rare in recent years.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 1,935 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Wednesday.

The daily tally is down by 480 from a week ago, and marks the 26th straight day of week-on-week decline.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu has said it's regrettable that Russia decided to suspend the implementation of a bilateral fishing agreement.

Matsuno made the comment at a news conference on Wednesday.

High school students in the Japanese city of Kawagoe, near Tokyo, are training to serve as English-speaking guides, ahead of the return of foreign tourists to Japan on Friday.

Thirty-five members of Hoshino High School's international culture club practiced leading people on a tour of the scenic town on Tuesday.

Japan's Immigration Services Agency has told the Diet how they complied a report on a Sri Lankan woman who died in detention, following an allegation that the report has misleading content.

The agency on Tuesday provided an explanation to the Lower House Judiciary Committee in response to allegations made by the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, or CDP.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has told NHK it is regrettable that Russia unilaterally announced the decision to suspend a bilateral 1998 fishing agreement.

The ministry criticized Moscow for speaking as if the pact was dependent on technical assistance to the Sakhalin region as a precondition for implementing the agreement.

Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda Haruhiko has apologized for saying that households are becoming more tolerant of higher prices.

Kuroda offered the apology on Tuesday for the remark he made during a speech on Monday.

Japan's government has adopted this year's basic policies for economic and fiscal management, including a plan to boost the country's defense capabilities.

The Cabinet approved the policies on Tuesday.