NHK has learned that Vietnamese technical trainees in Japan and other people are being deceived into taking part in illegal gambling.

Police are on heightened alert. Groups supporting foreign technical trainees are also warning them against taking part in suspicious gatherings.

Officials in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, are culling about 134,000 chickens after the H5 strain of bird flu was detected at a local farm.

The officials say they found dead chickens at a farm in the city of Mihara on Sunday. They say the dead poultry tested positive for the virus.

Japan's leading steelmaker is showing signs of a continuing recovery in the global economy. Nippon Steel says it will restart another furnace that's been offline due to the pandemic slowdown.

Executives say they plan to fire up a blast furnace in Ibaraki Prefecture near Tokyo by the end of January.

NHK has learned that records of the dissection of more than 1,000 leprosy patients after their deaths are being kept at national sanatoriums in Japan.

The public broadcaster carried out a survey of 12 sanatoriums after an institution in Kumamoto Prefecture said in September that its records show the bodies of at least 389 of its residents were dissected.

A giant tablet featuring next year's zodiac sign, the ox, has been installed at a shrine in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan.

A ceremony was held on Sunday to dedicate the tablet to Niukanshofu shrine in the town of Kudoyama.

A remote island in Tokyo has been recognized by an international organization as an "International Dark Sky Park" because of its starry night skies.

Kozushima is one of the Izu Islands. It is located 180 kilometers south of central Tokyo. The nonprofit International Dark Sky Association designated Kozushima Village as an "International Dark Sky Park." The entire village is about 18 square kilometers in size.

Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi says he has asked Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo to send nurses from the Self-Defense Forces to treat serious coronavirus cases at a newly established medical facility.

Yoshimura visited the new center for treating COVID-19 patients in serious condition on Monday.

Japanese sushi and hamburger chains are opening new outlets in Tokyo despite the coronavirus scourge. They are counting on rising demand for quick bites and take-out food to boost revenues.

Leading chain Kura Sushi plans to open six new restaurants by next October in areas such as Shibuya and Shinjuku. They are central transport hubs with heavy foot traffic.

Japanese automakers are stepping up efforts to develop software for self-driving vehicles. Many are establishing offices in Tokyo, away from production plants, to attract the IT specialists needed for autonomous vehicles.

Subaru opened an office in Shibuya in central Tokyo this month. It will specialize in the development of artificial intelligence for their cars.

The Japanese government says it's planning on temporarily lifting import tariffs on disposable gloves made of vinyl chloride. The goal is to make it easier for medical institutions to protect frontline workers against the coronavirus.

Most of the gloves used in Japan are imported and face a range of tariffs depending on where they are made. Chinese manufacturers account for nearly 80 percent of the market and typically face a tariff of nearly 5 percent.

NHK has learned that Japan's government is preparing to send nurses from the Self-Defense Forces to a hospital in Hokkaido to help it tackle surging coronavirus infections.

The city of Asahikawa in the northern prefecture has seen infection clusters spreading at two hospitals.

Japan's space agency says it plans to transport a capsule released by its asteroid probe Hayabusa2 from Australia to Japan by plane as early as Monday night.

The flight will depart after scientists from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, analyze gas inside the capsule.

Demand for business jets has been expanding as a way to transport small groups of people while reducing the risk of catching the coronavirus.

The trend comes as Japan has resumed business travel to and from China, Singapore, and other parts of the world.

Officials at Japan's space agency say the return of the Hayabusa2 capsule shows they have developed the technology to make round trips between planets.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, held a news conference on Sunday after the capsule, which is believed to contain sand samples from the Ryugu asteroid, landed in an Australian desert.