Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi has won the women's singles title at the US Open.

She beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to claim her third women's singles Grand Slam. Osaka won the US tournament in 2018.

Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party will vote on Monday for its new leader, who is expected to replace outgoing Prime Minister Abe Shinzo at the helm of the government. Candidates are seeking as much additional support as possible on Sunday, the last day of campaigning.

The election will be contested by former LDP Secretary-General Ishiba Shigeru, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide and LDP policy chief Kishida Fumio.

Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi has won the women's singles title at the US Open.

Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi has won the Silver Lion for best director at the 77th Venice Film Festival.

Kurosawa's movie "Wife of a Spy" is set in 1940, before the outbreak of the Pacific War. It's about the wife of a man who discovers a state secret and is accused of being a traitor.

A plastic container apparently from Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan, where a massive earthquake and tsunami struck in 2011, has washed ashore on a remote Japanese island.

The container measures 1.5-meter-long, 1.1-meter-wide and 70-centimeter-deep and was found on the coast of Ishigaki Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa.

Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi has won the Silver Lion for best director at the 77th Venice Film Festival.

Kurosawa's movie "Wife of a Spy" is set in 1940, before the outbreak of the Pacific War.

The three candidates running for the leadership of Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party took part in a public debate in Tokyo on Saturday. The winner of the leadership race is set to be the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide, former LDP Secretary-General Ishiba Shigeru, and LDP policy chief Kishida Fumio discussed topics including a special law to deal with the coronavirus, diplomacy and national security.

Torrential rain has pummeled parts of Japan, with more downpours feared across the country.

The Meteorological Agency says atmospheric conditions remain unstable nationwide due to a front over Japan and a low pressure system to the country's south.

The governing body of Japanese professional baseball has decided to lift the upper limit on the number of spectators allowed to attend a game to half of stadium capacity in stages, from 5,000 per game.

At an online meeting of representatives of the 12 teams on Saturday, Nippon Professional Baseball decided that the cap will be gradually eased, depending on the discretion of each team. The easing of the restriction will begin on September 19.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 226 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Saturday.

New infections again topped 200 after a dip on Friday.

Japan's government is set to add Tokyo to the "Go To Travel" domestic tourism campaign on October 1. The travel discount program is aimed at boosting consumer spending.

Trips to and from Tokyo were excluded from the campaign at its launch in July due to an increase in coronavirus cases in the capital at the time.

Tokyo officials confirmed 187 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Friday, a day after the metropolitan government slightly lowered the alert level.

In total, more than 22,600 people have now tested positive for the virus in the city of 14 million.

Japan and Singapore have agreed to allow short-term visits by each other's businesspeople, exempting them from 14-day quarantine under certain conditions.

Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu announced on Friday that the Business Track scheme will start September 18.

An expert panel advising the Japanese government has yet to approve a plan to add Tokyo to the "Go To Travel" campaign from October.

In a panel meeting on Friday, the experts agreed to make a final decision on the matter based on the situation of coronavirus infections in late September.