The Japanese government is poised to ask its advisory panel to discuss a two-week extension of the coronavirus state-of-emergency declaration for Tokyo and three of its neighboring prefectures.

The declaration has been in place for Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa since January 7. It is currently due to end on Sunday.

NHK has learned that the damage from the 2019 fire at Shuri Castle in Okinawa Prefecture, which destroyed the castle's main structures, is estimated at 5.3 billion yen, or about 49 million dollars.

The fire burned down six buildings, including the Seiden main hall. The landmark sat on underground ruins of the original castle built more than 500 years ago by the Ryukyu Kingdom. The remnants are listed as a World Heritage site. Two other structures were partially damaged.

Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have made an online visit to Iwate, one of three northeastern prefectures hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Officials say the Imperial couple is eager to see how the affected areas are being rebuilt and talk to survivors ahead of the 10th anniversary of the disaster on March 11. Online visits have been arranged due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan's communications ministry, now at the center of wining-and-dining scandals, says another senior official was treated to expensive meals by telecom giant NTT.

In a briefing for opposition lawmakers on Thursday, ministry officials said the director-general of the ministry's global strategy bureau, Makiguchi Eiji, was also entertained by NTT.

A group of students in Japan has asked the country's government and lawmakers to support citizens of Myanmar protesting last month's military coup there.

The group on Thursday handed in a petition signed by some 38,300 people to the Foreign Ministry and a cross-party parliamentarians' league supporting Myanmar's democracy movements.

The Japanese government is expected to decide on Friday to extend the coronavirus state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo area by two weeks until March 21.

The current state of emergency for Tokyo and three of its neighboring prefectures --- Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba --- is due to expire this Sunday.

The Japanese government says a senior communications ministry official who was disciplined for being wined and dined by a satellite broadcaster has admitted that he was also treated to meals by telecom giant NTT.

This comes after the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine reported that Taniwaki Yasuhiko, vice minister for policy coordination at the ministry, was treated by the NTT president and others to expensive meals.

Japanese police received a record-high number of consultations and reports regarding domestic violence in 2020.

The National Police Agency says there were 82,643 consultations and reports nationwide, up 436 from 2019.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials say 279 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in the capital on Thursday.

This brings the total number of people who have tested positive in Tokyo since the pandemic began to 112,624.

A nuclear body of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has issued a report on the lessons and challenges posed by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 10 years ago.

The report released by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency on Wednesday explains how the Japanese government has dealt with the aftermath of the accident and how it has impacted the world.

The Japanese government is planning to get the country's airports to embrace renewable energies.

Its initiative calls for the facilities to generate their own clean energy, and take other measures to reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he may extend the coronavirus state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo Area by about two weeks.

He plans to make a final decision at a task force meeting on Friday, based on opinions from a panel of experts.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force and Coast Guard have held a joint drill off southwestern Japan, with a focus on how to respond to a suspicious ship.

The exercise, held off Kyushu on Wednesday, involved a destroyer, a missile boat and two helicopters from the MSDF, and two Coast Guard patrol ships.

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he may extend the state of emergency for the greater Tokyo area.

Suga said, "I am thinking that we may need to extend the state of emergency by about two weeks to protect people's lives and livelihoods."