The Japanese government plans to subsidize operators of public transportation systems to help them introduce new anti-virus measures and cashless payment systems.
Operators of buses, railways and taxis are struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the financial difficulties, some of them are keeping their timetables unchanged so as not to inconvenience local residents as well as medical workers.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials say 561 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the capital on Saturday.
The officials say the number of people in serious condition in Tokyo stood at 67, up 6 from Friday. The figure marked the highest since a nationwide state of emergency was lifted in late May.
A collision between a leisure fishing boat and a cargo vessel at a port in eastern Japan has left one person dead.
Coast guard officials say the accident occurred at around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday at Kashima Port in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Hospitals across Japan are under growing strain due to the surge in coronavirus cases.
The health ministry says that as of Wednesday, there were 7,826 inpatients with COVID-19 symptoms. That was a rise of more than 1,800, or 32 percent, from a week earlier.
People with intractable diseases in Japan want the government to ensure sufferers of all illnesses can receive care during the coronavirus pandemic, which is putting an increasing burden on the medical system.
The Japan Patients Association, which comprises 93 organizations of patients with intractable or chronic illnesses, submitted an urgent request earlier this week.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has asked foreign diplomats to help disseminate information on the coronavirus to foreign residents in Tokyo.
The metropolitan government says that Tokyo has a population of about 540,000 foreign nationals. It says coronavirus infections among foreign nationals have been reported.
Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic have announced new schedules for the Games' test events.
The organizing committee for the Games made the announcement on Friday. The games had been rescheduled for next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo's political support group did not mention the cost of a dinner party it organized in its political fund report for last year.
The report was released on Friday. It has no record of the transactions concerning the party held in April 2019.
NHK has learned the details of a new Japanese government export plan that covers farm, forestry, and fishery products, as well as alcohol. The government wants to increase the value of annual shipments to 5 trillion yen or about 48 billion dollars by 2030.
The draft document focuses on 27 items, including beef, rice, apples, yellowtail fish and Japanese sake. It sets a mid-term export target of about 19 billion dollars in annual value by 2025.
The daily number of new coronavirus cases in Japan has been hovering near record levels. More than 2,500 cases have been confirmed so far on Friday.
Tokyo set a new daily record with 570 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the capital to nearly 40,000.
The remains of an 18-year-old victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima have been identified after 75 years.
The remains were discovered last year in a Tokyo building that used to house the RIKEN research institute and were handed over to the Hiroshima city authorities this month.
Japanese telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, or NTT, plans to launch a service using artificial intelligence to help prevent phone scams.
The NTT group on Friday demonstrated the service to be available from next Monday.
Tokyo's daily tally of coronavirus infections reached an all-time high of 570 cases on Friday. The previous record was 539, reported last Saturday.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says the newly confirmed cases involve people aged under 10 to over 100.
Tokyo is set to open its second medical facility dedicated specifically for COVID-19 patients with mild or moderate symptoms.
The hospital, which is a renovated healthcare facility in Fuchu City, will begin operations on December 16 as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center.