A town in the northernmost Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido says it has decided to apply for a first stage survey by the government for selecting a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
Suttsu Town is now to be the first municipality to apply for the survey since the government released in 2017 a map showing areas deemed suitable in scientific terms to host such sites underground.
Typhoon Chan-hom is expected to approach western and eastern Japan in the next couple of days. Meteorological officials are warning that the storm system will bring heavy rain even before its actual arrival.
The Meteorological Agency says that as of 6 p.m. on Thursday, Chan-hom was 270 kilometers southeast of Tanegashima Island in southwestern Japan.
Please click to watch NHK World-Japan meteorologist give the latest details on Typhoon Chan-hom.
The Japanese government has decided to conduct a set of ceremonies on November 8 to proclaim Crown Prince Akishino as the heir to the throne.
The government made the decision on Thursday. The ceremonies will be held on a reduced scale due to concerns about the coronavirus.
The Japanese government is considering exemptions of the 14-day quarantine requirement for Japanese business travelers and foreign nationals with residence status returning from overseas trips.
Officials are planning to make a decision as early as this month in a step to relax the entry restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A flock of swans from Siberia has arrived at a lake in the central Japanese city of Agano to spend the winter.
City officials say nine swans were spotted at Lake Hyoko on Wednesday. The first reported sighting of wintering swans came one day later than last year.
A government survey has found that more than 80 percent of facilities that received subsidies to build hydrogen filling stations across Japan were actually ineligible for them.
The subsidies were being offered as part of a project by the Environment Ministry for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The organizers of the Games have been promoting a carbon-neutral "hydrogen society," hoping to make it an Olympic legacy.
Typhoon Chan-hom is expected to approach western and eastern Japan in the next couple of days. Weather officials warn that the typhoon will bring heavy rain even before its actual approach.
The Meteorological Agency says that at noon on Thursday, Chan-hom was 320 kilometers southeast of Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, and was moving north at about 15 kilometers per hour.
The home of a mayor on Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has been vandalized as the town debates a plan to host a disposal site for nuclear waste.
Kataoka Haruo, the mayor of Suttsu, notified police before dawn on Thursday that a window of his house was shattered and scorched. The mayor was not hurt.
Weather officials in Japan say Typhoon Chan-hom may approach southwestern Japanese islands on Thursday. They are advising people to keep an eye on weather reports and stay on the alert for heavy rain, stormy winds and high waves.
The Meteorological Agency says Chan-hom was over waters 240 kilometers east-northeast of the island of Minami Daitojima at midnight between Wednesday and Thursday, and moving northwest at about 25 kilometers per hour.
A third-party panel of experts has compiled a report on the Japanese government's initial response to the pandemic. They say some of the measures were too little and too late.
One of the focal points of the report was the government's border control response.
Japanese lawmakers have asked the government why the prime minister refused to appoint six nominees recommended by a leading academic organization as new members.
The Science Council of Japan is made up of 210 members whose terms last six years. Half of them are replaced with new members every three years. The council is an independent body, but its members are special national government employees.
Japanese weather officials say Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom may approach the country over the weekend, bringing heavy rain to western and eastern regions.
The Meteorological Agency says Chan-hom was moving west-northwest at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour over waters south of Japan as of noon on Wednesday.
NHK has learned that the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are expecting to slash a total of more than 190 million dollars in costs for the Games.
The IOC's Coordination Commission and the Tokyo organizers agreed on 52 items related to their streamlining efforts in their teleconference on preparations for the Games in September.