The Japanese government has decided to grant Ukraine an additional 300-million-dollar loan to support the country, which continues to resist Russia's invasion.

The government has been supporting Ukraine and its surrounding nations with humanitarian and financial assistance. It has been discussing specific means to offer Ukraine more support.

Police in western Japan have arrested a 24-year-old man who has been refusing to return 46.3 million yen, or about 360,000 dollars, the town he lives in mistakenly sent him.

Yamaguchi prefectural police arrested Taguchi Sho on suspicion of computer fraud late on Wednesday.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says his organization will continue to assess Japan's plan to discharge diluted treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks during talks with Japanese industry minister Hagiuda Koichi in Tokyo on Wednesday. The two discussed a release plan that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, drew up based on the government policy.

NHK has learned that Japan's government plans to ease quarantine steps for people arriving in Japan, depending on positive rates for the coronavirus.

The easing is expected to come next month with raising of the cap on the number of people entering the country from the current 10,000 per day to 20,000.

The number of foreign visitors to Japan last month more than doubled from the previous month after the daily cap on arrivals was raised from 7,000 to 10,000.

The Japan National Tourism Organization says it estimates that 139,500 foreigners visited Japan in April. That is up 2.1 times from 66,100 in March.

Japan's nuclear regulator has approved a plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company drew up the plan in line with a decision by the government.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi have held online talks to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the relationship between their two countries.

During the talks on Wednesday, Hayashi pointed out that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law. He called on China to play a responsible role for the peace and stability of the international community.

Japan's latest GDP figures show that in the first quarter of this year, coronavirus restrictions caused the economy to shrink.

The Cabinet Office released preliminary figures on Wednesday.

Japan's gross domestic product contracted an annualized 1.0 percent in real terms from January to March, compared to the previous quarter.

Preliminary GDP data released by the Cabinet Office on Tuesday shows a drop in public investment. And, personal consumption, which accounts for more than half of GDP, was almost flat.

Japanese government officials are arranging for Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to announce Japan's participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, which the US plans to launch early this year.

Japanese government sources say US President Joe Biden is expected to announce the official launch of the IPEF when he holds talks with Kishida in Japan next Monday.

Japanese immigration authorities say that as of May 15, a total of 984 evacuees from Ukraine had arrived in Japan.

The Immigration Services Agency says 20 of them flew in on a government plane from Poland on April 5, and another 76 travelled on commercial flights, using seats secured by Japan's government. The remaining 888 came by other means.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 3,663 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Tuesday.

The daily tally was down about 800 from a week ago, and marked a week-on-week decline for four days in a row.

Major Japanese semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics has announced it's going to reopen a closed plant to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles.

The factory is located in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo. It was shut in 2014 as part of streamlining efforts amid a business slump. Company officials say they aim to restart production at the plant in 2024.

The Japanese government plans to accept small group tours from four countries in a trial this month. The program is intended to be a prelude to a full reopening of the country to foreign visitors starting in June.

Japan has generally barred the entry of tourists from overseas since early in the COVID-19 pandemic.