Japan opened large-scale vaccination facilities on Monday morning in Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture. Officials say they aim to inoculate Japan's 36 million seniors by the end of July.

The two venues are operated by the Self-Defense Forces. The newly-approved Moderna vaccine is being used at both. The Tokyo facility will administer 5,000 shots a day, while the one in Osaka will give out 2,500. The government says it hopes to double their combined capacity in the future.

Japan's top three banks are pushing to get greener. They're tightening lending to coal-fired energy plants, as the world turns to cleaner fuels.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will stop financing expansions to coal power stations from June. That's on top of its current ban on funding new plants.

Japan's minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the government plans to encourage the use of coronavirus antigen tests at companies and universities as part of its efforts to prevent cluster infections.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi revealed the idea in an NHK debate program on Sunday.

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he humbly accepts his ruling Liberal Democratic Party's failure to win Sunday's elections for three vacant Diet seats.

The Upper House re-held election in Hiroshima Prefecture, the Upper House by-election in Nagano Prefecture, and the Lower House by-election in Hokkaido No. 2 district were the first national contests since Suga took office last September. Candidates backed by opposition parties won all three elections. The LDP did not field or back any candidate in the by-election in Hokkaido.

The leader of Japan's Constitutional Democratic Party has expressed hope about accelerating talks on cooperating with other opposition parties for the next Lower House election.

Edano Yukio spoke to reporters on Monday, one day after opposition-backed candidates won all three Diet elections.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to win any of the three seats up for grabs in parliamentary elections on Sunday, the first national elections since Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide took office in September last year.

Candidates backed by opposition parties won a re-held Upper House election in the Hiroshima constituency, an Upper House by-election in the Nagano constituency, and a Lower House by-election for the No. 2 district in Hokkaido.

Many people were seen commuting in Tokyo on Monday morning, one day after the third coronavirus state of emergency took effect.

The declaration for the capital and three western prefectures will be in place through May 11. The government is asking people to work from home so that the number of commuters can be reduced by 70 percent.

Public elementary and junior high schools in the Japanese city of Osaka have introduced online classes, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The third state of emergency took effect on Sunday in Tokyo and three western prefectures, including Osaka. It is scheduled to run until May 11.

The Japanese government is planning to ask local clinics and other medical institutions to set aside hours during weeknights and holidays, exclusively for coronavirus vaccinations.

The move will be part of the government's efforts to expedite its COVID-19 inoculation program.

Japan's third coronavirus state of emergency took effect in Tokyo and three western prefectures on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether 17 days of restrictions will be enough to curb the spread of the virus.

Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol or offer karaoke are being asked to close, along with shopping malls and other large facilities.

Sunday marks the 16th anniversary of the deadly train crash that killed 107 people in the western Japanese city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

The annual memorial service was canceled again this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. But bereaved families still mourned the victims at the accident site and in their homes.

A food bank in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, has handed out food and daily necessities to people whose livelihoods have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonprofit group set up by owners of local eating and drinking establishments offered the items in Isesaki City on Sunday.

Japan's Meteorological Agency has modified its view of the eruption at Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Sunday morning. It now says that what appeared to be pyroclastic flows -- a dense current of hot gas and volcanic matter -- were actually volcanic fumes.

After the eruption, the agency initially said it confirmed that a mixture of lava, volcanic ash and gas had flowed for a distance of 1.8 kilometers from the crater.

Officials in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, say they confirmed 1,050 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday.

The daily tally has exceeded 1,000 for six consecutive days. This is the second-highest figure for a Sunday in the prefecture.