Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has announced his candidacy for president of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party.

The party is set to choose a successor to its outgoing president, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, on September 14.

Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party has finalized the schedule for choosing a successor to its outgoing president, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

The party's presidential election commission on Wednesday picked former Home Affairs Minister Noda Takeshi as its chair.

Two powerful weather systems are bearing down on western Japan from different directions. Weather officials are warning people to prepare for a strong typhoon heading toward the southwestern island of Kyushu. At the same time, a severe tropical storm is expected to hit western Japan in the coming days.

Typhoon Maysak has been gathering force, and will likely approach northern Kyushu this evening. The island is already being buffeted by strong winds.

The Tokyo Metropolitan government says it confirmed 141 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday.

The daily tally was three digits for the ninth straight day.

Tokyo officials say 187 people died of heatstroke in August in the Japanese capital. Of those people, 178 passed away indoors.

The Medical Examiner's Office says 95 percent of those who perished indoors were not using air conditioners.

Typhoon Maysak is expected to approach the northern part of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu toward Wednesday night while maintaining its strength.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says the typhoon was about 210 kilometers southwest of the city of Goto in Nagasaki Prefecture as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday. It was moving north at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide appears to be solidifying support among lawmakers of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party as the successor to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

The party will soon choose a new president after Abe announced his intention to resign due to health reasons.

Typhoon Maysak is moving northward after lashing Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says the typhoon was about 220 kilometers north of Kume Island as of 7:00 p.m. Tuesday Japan Time. It was moving north-northeast at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.

Japan's Defense Ministry has had to put off sending a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel to the Middle East after one crew member tested positive for the coronavirus.

The ministry says the infection was confirmed on Tuesday aboard the destroyer Murasame, which was due to engage in an intelligence-gathering mission in the Middle East.

Japan is urging South Korea to maintain pressure on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs by ensuring that sanctions against the North continue to be enforced.

On Tuesday, Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Tomita Koji had his first meeting with Lee In-young, who assumed the post of South Korea's unification minister in July.

Before and after her first match in the US Open, Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi wore a face mask bearing the name of a Black woman who was fatally shot by police in the United States in March.

The Grand Slam tournament opened in New York on Monday with various anti-coronavirus measures in place. No spectators are allowed, and players and tournament officials have been tested for the virus.

Major department stores in Japan are already set to start taking orders for New Year's delicacies known as osechi.

This year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, they are planning to offer food items in individual servings, rather than arranged for sharing. This will reduce the risk of infection.

Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party is moving forward with plans to choose its next leader, with a slimmed down election in just two weeks.

The winner will replace Prime Minister Abe Shinzo when he steps down to deal with his health problems.

Weather officials in Japan say the country's sea surface temperatures in August were the highest on record.

The Meteorological Agency says the average water surface temperatures of the Pacific side of eastern and western Japan, as well as the southern islands of Okinawa and Amami, were around 30 degrees Celsius last month.