Humanoid robot Asimo, developed by Japanese automaker Honda Motor, has bid farewell in the last of its regular shows in Tokyo. Honda ended the Asimo project.
In the final show on Thursday at the automaker's Tokyo head office, the robot demonstrated dances, soccer ball kicks and other skills in front of its fans.
A little over a week after coronavirus quasi-emergency measures were lifted for 18 prefectures in Japan, there are already signs of a rebound in cases.
A panel of experts has voiced concern about a seventh wave of infections and stressed caution is needed.
The Bank of Japan has bought a large amount of government bonds this week and has successfully kept long-term interest rates from rising.
The BOJ wrapped up its first consecutive unlimited bond buying operation at a yield of a quarter of a percent on Thursday. The central bank also increased regular bond purchases by 2.5 times to buy 2.3 trillion yen or nearly 19 billion dollars of JGBs on Wednesday.
The Japanese government will send Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa to Poland to organize acceptance of Ukrainian evacuees to Japan.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio initially chose Justice Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa as his special envoy to Poland. This is the nation with the largest number of Ukrainian refugees.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says 8,226 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported on Thursday.
The case count is down more than 600 from a week ago, marking the first week-on-week decline in five days.
Japanese Justice Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa, who was due to travel to Poland to coordinate Japan's acceptance of Ukrainian evacuees, may have come into close contact with an individual infected with the coronavirus.
Furukawa was scheduled to leave for Poland on Friday as a special envoy for Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
Nuclear reactors at three of Japan's power plants will be kept offline for longer than planned due to reasons including delays in installing stricter safety measures.
The delays concern the No.2 reactor at the Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture, the No.3 and No.4 reactors at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture, and the No.3 reactor at the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture.
Japan's Consulate General in Shanghai, China, has called on municipal authorities to help Japanese nationals fly back to Japan amid tight coronavirus lockdowns.
Coronavirus infections are surging in China. Authorities confirmed 8,655 community transmissions nationwide as of Tuesday, with 5,982 of them in Shanghai. Most of those who tested positive had no symptoms.
The Japanese government plans to submit a bill that would raise tariffs on some Russian imports and strip Moscow of "most favored nation" status.
It's part of additional sanctions over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
The Japanese government is considering various support measures for Ukrainian evacuees to help them begin their lives in Japan.
Japanese Justice Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa plans to travel to Poland on Friday as a special envoy for Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to lay the groundwork for accepting Ukrainian evacuees.
The Japanese government has decided to boost maritime monitoring spots ahead of the anticipated release of treated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
At the Fukushima Daiichi plant, water is used to cool molten nuclear fuel. It mixes with rain and groundwater that flows into damaged reactor buildings.
A social welfare group in Tokyo is preparing to provide humanitarian assistance for Ukrainian people just as it did for Polish children about 100 years ago.
Fukudenkai operates welfare facilities for children and others in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. The group accepted 375 Polish children who had been left in Siberia after World War One. They later returned home.
Municipalities in Tokyo are moving to offer their support to Ukrainians who are fleeing their country due to Russia's invasion.
The city of Hino hosted the Olympic delegation from Ukraine during last summer's Tokyo Games. The city announced on Tuesday that it will accept fleeing Ukrainians. It plans to provide consultation services to match Ukrainians with residents wishing to provide support.
An inquiry panel has issued an interim report on the cause of a deadly mudslide in Japan's prefecture of Shizuoka last year.
The disaster hit the Izusan district of the seaside resort city of Atami. A massive amount of mud flowed from a soil mound built in an area on high ground down along a mountain river, leaving 26 people dead and one person missing.