Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has vowed full support for the effort to ensure fair access to coronavirus drugs and vaccines, including in developing countries.

He addressed the UN General Assembly via video.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone for the first time since taking office last week.

He spoke to reporters after the talks on Friday.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone on Friday for the first time since Suga took office last week.

Suga spoke to reporters after the talks.

As many countries around the world prepare for a possible resurgence of coronavirus cases, Japan is taking steps to promote social and economic activities.

Government officials and experts met on Friday to discuss their anti-virus strategy.

The Japanese government has decided to ease entry restrictions from October for foreigners from around the world, excluding tourists.

The decision was made on Friday at a meeting of the government's taskforce on the coronavirus response attended by Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and other ministers.

Japan's Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu says Japan has agreed with Singapore and Brunei to ease entry restrictions on long-term residents.

Motegi told reporters on Friday that cross-border travel by long-term residents will be allowed between Japan and Singapore from next Wednesday, and between Japan and Brunei from October 8.

The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Games organizing committee have agreed on ways to rein in additional costs incurred by the postponement of the event.

The IOC's coordination committee announced on Friday that it agreed with the Tokyo organizers on 52 items to simplify after a two-day teleconference on preparations for the Games.

A survey by Japan's cultural affairs agency shows nearly half of respondents think it's necessary to use simple Japanese language for information on disasters and public services, as the country has an increasing number of foreign residents.

The agency conducts an annual survey on changes to the way the Japanese language is used. It focused for the first time this year on a national effort to use "Easy Japanese" to assist non-native speakers in times of disaster. Easy Japanese includes the use of short sentences, simple words and fewer kanji characters.

Visitors to Tokyo Disneyland will get access to some new attractions starting on Monday. The opening of an area that includes a "Beauty and the Beast" section was delayed by about half a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The theme-park's operator, Oriental Land, redeveloped 47,000 square meters of the site on Tokyo Bay at the cost of about 710 million dollars. That's the largest investment since Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983.

A court in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, has acquitted a woman who allegedly shook her baby violently, leaving him with serious aftereffects to the brain.

Asano Akane, aged 27, was indicted for seriously injuring her three-month-old son in 2016 by shaking him forcefully. The boy is suffering from permanent brain damage.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 195 new cases of coronavirus infection on Friday.

The preliminary figure reported at 3 p.m. brings the total number of confirmed infections in the capital to 24,843.

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says his government will do its utmost to rebuild the areas hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Suga was speaking on Friday at the first meeting of his Cabinet's taskforce on reconstruction from the disaster.

Volunteer firefighters are suspending their search for three people, including a Vietnamese trainee, who have been missing since a mudslide in southwestern Japan nearly three weeks ago.

The mudslide in Shiiba Village, Miyazaki Prefecture, likely occurred on the night of September 6, when Typhoon Haishen was approaching Japan. The disaster swept away a construction firm office and the home of the company's owner.

Japan's national security adviser has told his US counterpart that Tokyo is studying alternatives to the US-designed Aegis Ashore missile defense system.

Kitamura Shigeru met Robert O'Brien in Washington on Thursday.