Japanese researchers say they've found in a study that 98 percent of people who were infected with the coronavirus had antibodies for at least six months. The researchers say this shows that such people are less likely to be infected again during the period.

Yokohama City University and other institutions conducted the study to find out what percentage of people maintain neutralizing antibodies.

In Japan, health authorities are taking more measures against the virus as infections rise... with Tokyo reporting 500 new cases on Wednesday.

More than 41,000 people have now tested positive for the virus in the capital. Fifty-nine are currently in serious condition.

A former head of a major poultry business reportedly has said he gave cash totaling worth about 48,000 dollars to a former agriculture minister while he was in office.

The former head of Akita Foods, headquartered in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, served as an adviser of the Japan Poultry Association and actively lobbied Diet members and the agriculture ministry over industry matters.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials confirmed 500 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Wednesday.

The daily tally reached 500 for the first time since last Saturday.

Japan's Diet has enacted legislation to prepare to distribute and administer coronavirus vaccines.

The Upper House of the Diet unanimously approved on Wednesday a bill to revise laws related to immunization and quarantine to address the ongoing pandemic.

Japan is clamping down on exports of seeds and saplings as it looks to protect its food industry.

A revision to Japan's Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act on Wednesday allows developers to limit export destinations, as well as production areas in Japan, for registered new varieties of crops.

Japanese researchers have found that people with COVID-19 have antibodies for at least six months after becoming infected.

Yokohama City University and other institutions conducted a study of 376 people in their 20s to 70s who were infected with the coronavirus between February and May.

Japan's government will urge seniors and people with underlying health issues not to use its domestic tourism campaign to travel to and from Tokyo. The decision is in line with a request from the capital where coronavirus cases are surging.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko agreed on Tuesday that they will ask people aged 65 and older and those with existing health conditions to refrain from making such trips.

Russia's military has conducted surface-to-air missile drills on at least one of four islands claimed by Japan.

Russia's Eastern Military District says the S-300 air defense system was moved from a location in the country's Far East.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko says the central government has agreed to ask seniors and people with underlying health issues to refrain from using its tourism campaign when traveling to and from the capital.

Koike on Tuesday met with Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, and later spoke to reporters at the metropolitan government building.

The number of seriously ill patients with COVID-19 across Japan hit 472 on Monday. That's a new record high, and the health minister says it's another sign the situation is growing more serious.

Health Minister Tamura Norihisa said, "The number of people in serious condition tends to lag behind new cases. So the fact that serious ones have increased to nearly 500 means we're facing a sense of crisis."

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and the president of the Japan Medical Association met Tuesday to discuss measures that can be taken in anticipation of a spike in seriously ill coronavirus patients.

Nakagawa Toshio, the association's head, told Suga that medical care systems are under a lot of pressure because the virus is continuing to spread. He added that the number of seriously ill patients requiring ventilators and special care is expected to grow.

The Tokyo Metropolitan government is planning to ask medical facilities in the capital to secure 50 more beds for serious coronavirus patients, for a total of 200.

Tokyo now has 70 patients with serious respiratory symptoms. It is the highest figure since the government lifted the state-of-emergency in May.

The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 372 new coronavirus cases in the capital on Tuesday.

That was the highest number ever reported on a Tuesday, surpassing the 309 confirmed on August 4.