A Sri Lankan who is suing Japan over the death of her sister in an immigration detention facility arrived at Narita airport near Tokyo ahead of a trial to start June 8.
Wishma Sandamali died March 6, 2021 in the detention facility in Nagoya, while being held for overstaying her visa. Wishma, 33, had complained of illness.
Evacuees from Ukraine have taken part in a Japanese language and culture lesson in the city of Yokohama, near Tokyo. Organizers say they hope to prevent evacuees from becoming isolated.
About 20 people attended the lesson on Friday at a cafe called "Druzi," which means friends in Ukrainian. The cafe was set up as a meeting place for Ukrainian evacuees. City officials say 59 people from 32 families have fled Ukraine to stay in Yokohama.
Japan has unveiled an emergency grant of about 1.7 million dollars for the transportation of aid supplies to Ukraine.
The government made the decision on Friday amid growing calls for more humanitarian assistance due to Russia's invasion.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated more than 100 subway stations as shelters in the event of a ballistic missile strike.
The unprecedented step comes amid a flurry of North Korean test launches this year.
The Lower House of the Japanese Diet has approved a draft supplementary budget for this fiscal year to finance an emergency package designed to address surging fuel prices among other issues.
Lawmakers deliberated on the draft budget of 2.7 trillion yen, or roughly 21.2 billion dollars, at a plenary session on Friday after the chamber's Budget Committee passed it earlier in the day.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says the transport ministry shares responsibility for the sinking of a tour boat off Hokkaido last month.
Kishida made the comments at a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.
The Japanese city of Nagasaki will not invite Russia and its close ally Belarus to an annual ceremony marking the city's 1945 atomic bombing because of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Mayor Taue Tomihisa told reporters on Thursday the city would not send invitations to the two countries' ambassadors to Japan.
A diver for the Japan Coast Guard has been recognized as having set the world record for most consecutive pull-ups.
Adachi Kenta met with the media at a Coast Guard office in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, where he works as a diver on a patrol vessel. He spoke about his achievement and performed some pull-ups.
A hospital in Tokyo has begun administering a COVID-19 vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Novavax. The coronavirus vaccine is the fourth to be used in Japan.
Inoculations began at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Friday on healthcare workers, as part of research on possible side effects and effectiveness.
Small groups of foreigners have been arriving in Japan to take part in government-sponsored guided tours, as the country prepares to welcome tourists next month.
A participant from a travel agency in Australia said, "we really hope that the Japanese people are excited about having tourism back in the country again."
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has said the country will resume allowing inbound tourism which had been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kishida said on Thursday that Japan will reopen its borders to foreign tourists, starting on June 10. Only visitors on escorted package tours will be allowed to enter for the time being, to prevent the spread of the virus.
The defense chiefs of Japan and the United States have confirmed close cooperation to boost their alliance's deterrence and response capabilities following North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches.
Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo held a teleconference with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday.
Japanese weather officials forecast heavy rain in areas along the Pacific coast in eastern and northern Japan through Saturday.
They have issued a landslide alert for the southern part of the city of Hamamatsu and the city of Kosai in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Japan's borders are about to reopen to foreign tourists for the first time in two years since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. But the country's prime minister says the easing will be gradual and there will be conditions.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio gave a lecture and said on Thursday, "From June 10th, we will again welcome foreign tourists on package tours that are accompanied by guides."