In Japan, a decision on disposing of massive amounts of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could be close to being finalized. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says his government will set a policy based on expert proposals.

Suga made the remark when he met the head of a national organization representing fisheries, a sector worried that one option -- dumping the wastewater into the sea -- could potentially impact their livelihoods.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he will make an appeal to US President Joe Biden for support in resolving the abduction issue of Japanese nationals by North Korea at the upcoming Japan-US summit.

On Wednesday, Suga talked with a group of abductees' relatives, including Yokota Sakie, the mother of abductee Yokota Megumi.

Osaka Prefecture in western Japan has independently declared a medical state of emergency in response to a rapid surge in coronavirus cases.

Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi told a task force meeting on Wednesday that infections are spreading at an unprecedented pace. He said the number of seriously ill patients is increasing quickly. The governor also said he believes the situation indicates that coronavirus variants are having an impact.

NHK has learned that the Japanese government is making arrangements for Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide to visit India and the Philippines from late April.

The visit is planned as Suga works to deepen ties with the United States, Australia, India and others that share the same values as Japan in the face of China's growing military and economic might.

Prefectural government officials in Osaka, western Japan, reported 719 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday. That is the highest number ever recorded in the prefecture.

Osaka's daily tally topped Tokyo's for the eighth day in a row.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 399 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Tuesday, up 35 from a week ago.

The daily tally in Tokyo has marked a week-on-week increase for the sixth straight day.

The Japanese government decided to extend its sanctions against North Korea for another two years in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The decision comes after a lack of progress on outstanding issues including Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programs and the abductions of Japanese nationals. North Korea launched two ballistic missiles last month.

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide received his second coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday ahead of his visit to the United States.

Suga was given the shot at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, where he got his first dose on March 16.

Japan and Germany plan to hold the first-ever talks between their foreign and defense ministers as early as next week.

The sides are making arrangements to hold the "two-plus-two" talks in a teleconference format.

Japan's health ministry research team is calling on continuing protective measures against coronavirus even after people are vaccinated. The call follows a report that a recipient of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine subsequently contracted the virus.

The team says they learned that a medical worker in her 20s tested positive and was admitted to hospital after she received her first dose in late February.

The president of one of Japan's major financial groups has apologized again for systems failures that shut down ATMs across the country. He said the problems have been fixed and the machines are more secure.

Mizuho Financial Group President Sakai Tatsufumi said, "I would like to apologize deeply from the bottom of my heart. We aim to drastically strengthen our crisis management system and enhance our organizational strength."

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay in Osaka Prefecture have called for holding the event in the capital city of Osaka at alternative sites amid a rise in the number of coronavirus cases.

The organizers officially made the request on Monday to the Tokyo Games organizing committee as coronavirus infections are spreading in the city.

Osaka and two other prefectures in Japan are tightening coronavirus measures to curb a spike in new cases.

The focus is on a limited area and period of time in the hopes of containing the situation so another state of emergency is avoided.

Tokyo police have sent papers to prosecutors on a man in his 30s for the alleged online slandering of reality show star Kimura Hana, who took her own life at the age of 22 in May last year.

The man is the second person to be referred to prosecutors in the incident.