Major Japanese heavy machinery maker IHI says it is entering the market for smaller, safer nuclear reactors through a partnership with a US startup.

IHI will initially invest 20 million dollars in NuScale Power. The US firm develops so-called small modular reactors.

The number of coronavirus vaccine doses administered in Japan has exceeded 10 million.

The government says that as of Thursday, a total of 10.74 million shots had been given to people across the country, mainly medical workers and the elderly.

An advisory panel to the Japanese government has approved an extension of emergency coronavirus measures for Tokyo and eight other prefectures.

Emergency declarations for Hokkaido, Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Okayama, Hiroshima and Fukuoka are set to end on Monday.

Japan's health minister Tamura Norihisa says the government is expected to approve expanding the use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for people aged 12 or older by the end of this month.

Japan currently allows people aged 16 or older to receive the vaccine developed by US firm Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. In the United States and elsewhere, those aged 12 or older can be given the shots.

Volunteer tour guides held a celebration after UNESCO officially recommended adding a group of archaeological sites in northern Japan to its list of important cultural spots.

The Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and the northern Tohoku region consist of 17 ancient ruins in Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Akita prefectures. The World Heritage Committee is expected to include the sites on the list at a meeting in July.

A Japanese cargo ship capsized after colliding with a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel in Japan's Inland Sea on Thursday night. Nine of the 12 people on board the Japanese ship have been rescued, but three are missing.

Authorities received a report at around 11:55 p.m. on Thursday that the 11,000-ton cargo ship, Byakko, and the 2,700-ton chemical tanker, Ulsan Pioneer, had collided off the coast of Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.

The organizing committee for this year's Tokyo Paralympics says it will likely secure more vehicles than expected to transport participants in wheelchairs during the games.

The committee says the vehicles will likely include about 270 buses equipped with wheelchair lifts, up by 40 from the initial plan. It says roughly 70 additional low-floor buses are also expected to be available.

The Japanese government seems ready to extend coronavirus emergency measures in Tokyo and 8 other prefectures for another three weeks.

Emergency declarations for those areas are set to expire on Monday. Officials plan to extend it to June 20, the day Okinawa's emergency is set to end.

Elderly residents of three prefectures surrounding Tokyo will be able to start making reservations on Friday for vaccinations at a large-scale inoculation center in Tokyo.

Next Monday was the original date for people aged at least 65 living in Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa to start making such reservations.

Japan's government has drawn up a strategy to boost exports of farm, forestry and fishery products.

The draft plan encourages farmers and businesses to set up organizations covering entire supply chains for each key export, such as rice and beef.

The Japanese government is eyeing an extension of coronavirus emergency measures in Tokyo and eight other prefectures following calls from governors. Experts warn that a dangerous variant could spread rapidly through the capital.

Tokyo's battle against the virus has seen slow results.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 684 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Thursday.

The figure is 159 fewer than a week ago and marks the 14th straight day of week-on-week decline.

Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi says she won't take questions from the press during the upcoming French Open, citing reporters' lack of consideration for the players' mental health.

Osaka wrote on Twitter, "I'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros," referring to the Grand Slam tournament in France that opens on Sunday.

Japan's industry ministry says it aims to develop technology by around the late 2030s to reprocess and reuse mixed oxide nuclear fuel, which contains plutonium extracted from spent fuel.

Ministry officials announced the target at a meeting with executives of electric power companies on Tuesday, and asked for their support to develop the technology.