Night sky watchers say what appeared to be a fireball was seen streaking over wide areas of Japan.
It was a phenomenon created by a fragment of a falling asteroid burning as it descends into the atmosphere.
Japanese weather officials forecast rain and thunder storms will hit wider parts of western Japan from Thursday night through Saturday.
The Meteorological Agency expects a seasonal rain front and a low-pressure system to approach the region on Friday and later.
Players of Major League Baseball teams have gathered at their home ballparks before resuming training on Friday or later.
The 2020 MLB regular season opens on July 23 or 24. The season was originally scheduled to start on March 26, but postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has called on people to refrain from visiting nightlife districts where coronavirus infections are on the rise.
Koike called for increased vigilance against the virus in a hastily held news conference on Thursday after the capital reported that 107 people were confirmed positive on the day. It is the first time that the number of infections has topped 100 since May 2, when 154 cases were reported under a state of emergency.
Japan's government plans to reduce coal-fired power generation by about 90 percent by fiscal 2030.
Coal-fired power plants are under review worldwide for their huge emissions of carbon dioxide. Countries are being urged to achieve a carbon-free society under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
A medical society in Japan is to research lingering symptoms that some people suffer after recovering from COVID-19 and testing negative.
Members of the Japanese Respiratory Society plan to begin collecting data on infected people from medical institutions across Japan as early as next month.
Japanese swimming star Ikee Rikako has invited media to view her training in a pool after her treatment for leukemia.
Ikee revealed her leukemia diagnosis in February last year. The 19-year-old left hospital last December and resumed training in mid-June after a pause due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Officials in the city of Hiroshima have begun their annual campaign to trace the relatives of atomic bomb victims whose remains have been identified but not yet claimed.
The officials on Thursday sent out a list of the names of 814 victims of the 1945 bombing of the city to municipalities across Japan.
More than 17,400 people with dementia were reported missing in Japan last year.
The National Police Agency says 17,479 people diagnosed with or suspected of having dementia went missing in 2019. The figure increased from the previous year by 552, and has been rising since 2012.
NHK has learned that more than 100 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the capital on Thursday.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials say this is the first time since May 2 that the daily total of new cases has reached 100.
Japan's health and welfare ministry says the average age of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has topped 83.
The ministry every year surveys the holders of certificates for "hibakusha," or victims of atomic bombings.
Heavy rain has pummeled the Tokai region, central Japan, prompting weather officials to warn of mudslides.
The accumulated rainfall for the one hour through 5 p.m. on Wednesday reached 32 millimeters in Kawazu Town in Shizuoka Prefecture.
The head of a Tokyo hospital where an outbreak of the coronavirus killed dozens of patients has apologized for insufficient measures to deal with the infectious disease.
Eiju General Hospital in Tokyo confirmed 214 coronavirus cases since March, including 109 inpatients, 83 doctors and other staff members and 22 people who have had close contact with those infected. Forty-three inpatients died.
The Japanese government is moving to ease entry restrictions for Taiwan and some countries in Southeast Asia where coronavirus infections are largely contained.
The government is considering starting talks with Taiwan and countries including Singapore and Brunei as early as July, aiming to allow businesspeople to travel between Japan and them.