The Japanese government will enforce stricter coronavirus measures in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa from Monday without declaring a state of emergency.

The formal decision came during a task force meeting on Friday. The measures will continue until May 5 in Kyoto and Okinawa, and May 11 in Tokyo.

The minister in charge of Japan's COVID-19 vaccination program says he thinks the government will be able to secure enough vaccine doses to give two shots each to about 36 million senior citizens by the end of June.

Vaccinations of senior citizens, who will have turned 65 or older by the end of the current fiscal year, will begin next Monday.

The western Japanese prefecture of Osaka reported 883 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday. That's the second highest number ever reported in the prefecture. It follows the record tally of 905 cases that officials in Osaka confirmed one day earlier.

The daily count topped 800 for the third straight day.

A senior official of Japan's Imperial Household Agency has revealed how Crown Prince Akishino and his family reacted to the contents of a document released by Komuro Kei. Komuro is to be engaged to the crown prince's eldest daughter Princess Mako.

Kachi Takaharu is the top official in charge of the crown prince's family. He was speaking at a regular news conference on Friday. Komuro on Thursday released the document, in which he explains details of a financial issue involving his mother and her former fiance.

Japan's government is to allow Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa to enforce stricter coronavirus measures without an emergency declaration, starting Monday.

Tokyo is set to introduce stricter measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. But the chief expert of a government panel has warned that if they don't work, another state of emergency may become necessary.

Omi Shigeru spoke at a meeting of the Lower House health and welfare committee on Friday. He said Tokyo is now in Stage Three -- the second highest on the government's four-tiered scale.

NHK has learned that the Japanese government is ready to announce, as early as Tuesday, that it plans to dispose of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by releasing it into the ocean.

Wastewater produced by the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is stored in tanks in the compound which are set to fill up next year. It's treated, but still contains radioactive tritium.

The Japanese government's panel of experts has approved a plan to allow Tokyo and the prefectures of Kyoto and Okinawa to apply stricter anti-coronavirus measures.

The panel gave approval on Friday at a meeting attended by Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, who is also in charge of the coronavirus response.

Sources have told NHK that the Japanese government is set to announce, as early as Tuesday, a plan to dilute radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and release it into the ocean.

Japan's central government will likely allow the governors of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Okinawa prefectures to implement targeted anti-coronavirus measures.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide on Thursday announced his intention to allow Tokyo to take such a move, as requested by the governor.

The Japanese agency that examines new medicines says domestic testing will not be necessary in cases when clinical trial data is available from overseas on existing coronavirus vaccines that have been tailored to new variants.

This is the new policy announced by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, or PMDA, for screening COVID-19 vaccines going forward.

The head of Japan's Self-Defense Forces says more than 100 personnel from a coronavirus-hit unit in the African nation of Djibouti took part in large-scale events late last month. The Defense Ministry suspects the events may have been behind the spread of the infection.

SDF Chief of Staff General Yamazaki Koji made the statement on Thursday regarding the unit engaged in an anti-piracy mission off Somalia. The ministry says 21 of the unit's members have tested positive for the virus.

Stricter measures against coronavirus are returning to Tokyo as a surge in new cases follows the lifting of a state of emergency last month.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko said, "From the viewpoint of crisis management, we have asked the central government to designate Tokyo as an area where strict measures should be taken."

Japanese researchers have begun a study to measure the effectiveness of a coronavirus vaccine against variants of the virus.

A research team at Yokohama City University is looking at the efficacy of a vaccine that is currently being administered in Japan.