The head of the Japanese government's advisory panel on the coronavirus and other volunteer experts have submitted their views on possible virus situations before, during and after the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Omi Shigeru and other experts submitted on Friday their opinions to Hashimoto Seiko, the President of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A Japanese district court has sentenced a former justice minister and Diet member to three years in prison for vote-buying in relation to his wife's election to the Upper House two years ago.
The Tokyo District Court sentenced Kawai Katsuyuki on Friday.
Japan's defense minister has stressed the importance of cooperation with the EU to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region amid China's rise in activities.
Kishi Nobuo made his comments on Thursday during a speech at a virtual meeting of the European Parliament's security and defense subcommittee. He became the first Japanese defense minister to attend such a session.
The interim results of Japanese research on long-term effects of the coronavirus show that some people experienced fatigue, hair loss or other symptoms six months after they had been diagnosed with infection.
Three study groups at the health ministry have been conducting the research.
The Japanese government has officially decided to end the coronavirus state of emergency on Sunday for nine of the 10 prefectures covered. Seven of the nine prefectures will then have focused restrictions through July 11.
The government also decided to extend the state of emergency for Okinawa Prefecture through July 11 because the healthcare system there remains overstretched.
The head of Japan's coronavirus advisory panel says experts have asked the government to accept three conditions before it lifts the state of emergency for Tokyo.
Omi Shigeru spoke to reporters after the panel met on Thursday. He said the experts had approved the government's plan to end the emergency for nine prefectures on Sunday, replacing it with focused restrictions for seven of them.
Japan's government plans to provide more support to foreigners who have lost jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The labor ministry says a record 1.72 million foreigners were working in the country at the end of last October.
The operator of the Mihama nuclear power plant on the Sea of Japan coast says it will restart an aging reactor next Wednesday after a 10-year suspension.
The No.3 unit would be the first reactor that is more than 40 years old to be put back online in Japan since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident of 2011.
Japan's coronavirus state of emergency will end in Tokyo and eight other prefectures on Sunday. Okinawa will remain under the declaration until July 11.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 452 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Thursday.
The figure is up 13 from a week earlier, marking a week-on-week increase for a second day in a row.
Japan's top government spokesperson says the country will respond appropriately regarding a member of Myanmar's national soccer team who wishes to apply for asylum.
Pyae Lyan Aung told reporters at Kansai International Airport on Thursday morning that he intends to seek asylum. He refused to fly back to Myanmar with his teammates on Wednesday night.
The Japanese government's coronavirus advisory panel has approved lifting the state of emergency for nine prefectures from Monday. Seven of these prefectures will then have focused restrictions through July 11.
Ten prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, are currently covered by the coronavirus state of emergency.
The Japanese government plans to allow municipalities to issue "vaccine passports" -- documents certifying coronavirus vaccinations -- starting next month.
The European Union is considering introducing vaccine certificates. Business leaders and others in Japan want such certificates to be issued to people who travel abroad as soon as possible.
A group of researchers in Japan say the effects of strict measures imposed to reduce coronavirus infections have varied across prefectures, with Osaka higher than Tokyo.
The researchers from National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University and others studied how long it took for new cases to decline after an emergency or quasi-emergency, a step before an emergency, were imposed since April.