The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition has unveiled the official logo in Osaka where the event will be held.
The winning design was created by a team of six and features a dozen "bouncing" red cells in the shape of an O, the initial of the host city. It was selected from among 5,894 submissions.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has said the government will step up efforts to secure face mask supplies in case of a further spread of the coronavirus in the country.
Suga told reporters on Wednesday that about one billion face masks were available in Japan in August, and roughly half were produced domestically.
Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has formally announced his intention to resign due to a relapse of an inflammatory bowel disease.
At a news conference on Friday, Abe said that a regular checkup in June showed signs of a recurrence of ulcerative colitis, and that he began feeling physically worn down as his condition worsened around mid-July. He said doctors confirmed a relapse in early August.
Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo intends to step down to deal with a health problem. Abe has told his ruling Liberal Democratic Party officials of his intention to resign.
LDP officials and Abe held an urgent meeting at party headquarters to discuss the prime minister's decision .
Top officials from Japan's ruling and opposition parties commented on Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's intention to step down.
Policy chief Kishida Fumio of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party told reporters that he will confirm the facts later.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has had a chronic condition called ulcerative colitis since his teens. People with the disease suffer severe abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea, due to inflamed linings of the large intestine.
Abe first became prime minister in 2006 at age 52 -- the youngest in postwar Japan. But he left office after about one year as he began to suffer severe symptoms.
Here is a look back on Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's more than seven years in office.
Abe rode a massive wave of support for his Liberal Democratic Party back into power in 2012.
News of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's plan to resign has rocked the markets in Japan.
Share prices on the Nikkei 225 briefly tumbled more than 600 points, or 2.6 percent, after the reports. It closed Friday at 22,882, down 326 points or 1.4 percent.
Japan's Defense Minister Kono Taro says he will discuss regional issues and cooperation on national security with his US counterpart on Saturday.
Kono said in a news conference on Friday that he will hold talks with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Guam. The trip would be Kono's first overseas in about six months.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 226 new cases of coronavirus infection on Friday.
The daily tally in the capital has exceeded 200 for three straight days.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo entered the prime minister's office shortly before 10 a.m. on Friday.
He responded to greetings from reporters as he entered the office.
Japan's government says it will aim to secure enough coronavirus vaccine for all citizens in the country by the first half of next year.
A government taskforce decided on a set of measures to deal with the outbreak on Friday, with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Cabinet ministers in attendance.
The leader of junior coalition partner Komeito, Yamaguchi Natsuo, told NHK that he was surprised when Prime Minister Abe Shinzo told him about his intention to resign because it came out of the blue.
Komeito executives plan to hold an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon.
Sources close to the Japanese Prime Minister say he plans to step down to deal with a health problem.
Abe Shinzo is scheduled to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his decision.