The governor of Osaka, western Japan, says the prefecture has determined its own criteria for gradually lifting restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic in the wake of the central government's extension of the state of emergency.
The prefecture's taskforce met on Tuesday.
Japan's minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the government plans to hear experts' opinions every week to consider whether to lift the state of emergency for the coronavirus.
Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi held separate teleconferences with leaders of Japan's major business organizations and the representative of prefectural governors on Tuesday.
Prefectural authorities across Japan are quickly responding after the government extended a nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic well past the country's week-long spring holidays.
The state of emergency was initially set to end on Wednesday. But the central government officially announced on Monday it was extending the state of emergency to May 31.
People in Japan traditionally display colorful carp-shaped streamers for Children's Day on May 5. Yamada Town in the northeast aimed a little higher than usual this year due to the coronavirus, which has kept many kids at home for the country's week-long spring holiday.
On Tuesday, about 130 of the carp streamers were hung at a lofty 25 meters in the parking lot of the local science museum. The display makes use of two mobile cranes.
Japan has pledged about $234 million dollars towards the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
The funds are set to be channeled through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, or CEPI, and other groups.
A government panel of experts in Japan says it is reviewing the criteria for people to be tested for the coronavirus.
The move comes amid complaints that the current criteria are too stringent.
The Japanese government's decision to extend the state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak is putting further pressure on restaurants and other businesses in Japan.
Toyoshima Tadashi, 69, has run a restaurant for over four decades in Chofu City, Tokyo, but decided to close permanently after Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced the decision at a news conference on Monday.
As stay-at-home life continues for people in Japan, some are taking to the Internet to criticize others they see as flouting coronavirus preventive measures.
Unlike many other countries, under its state of emergency, Japan asks that the public voluntarily restrain themselves from going out. Some citizens have taken it upon themselves to police others and have been dubbed "the voluntary restraint police."
May 5 is Children's Day in Japan.
The number of children in the country has declined every year since 1982, and is now at an all-time low.
Japan reported 176 new coronavirus cases and 20 deaths on Monday.
The country's total number of cases is now 15,253. The tally includes people tested at airport quarantine stations, health ministry officials, quarantine officers and individuals who returned to Japan from China on government-chartered planes. It also includes infections among the crew of the Costa Atlantica cruise ship docked in Nagasaki, western Japan.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says he wants to get the anti-flu drug Avigan approved as a new coronavirus treatment by the end of this month.
Abe was speaking at an executive committee meeting of his Liberal Democratic Party on Monday.
The Japanese government has decided to extend a nationwide state of emergency until the end of this month. It was originally set to expire on Wednesday.
Members of a special taskforce met at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
Japan has decided to extend the nationwide state of emergency until the end of May. It was originally set to expire on Wednesday.
The government's coronavirus task force made the decision on Monday.
A government panel of experts on Monday reaffirmed that the rate of newly confirmed coronavirus cases is on the decline in Japan, but that a resurgence could overwhelm medical systems. They agreed that it is desirable for the current restrictions to remain in place for the time being.
But the panel also worked out a set of proposals for what it calls "new social behavior" that should become new norms in regions where the spread of the virus appears to have been limited.