Japan's leading talent agency, Johnny & Associates, will supply thousands of pieces of medical gear to hospitals struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and suffering a chronic shortage of such equipment.
The agency says it is making use of the ties it has fostered with the Chinese people over the years to purchase equipment from the country.
Japan is set to extend its nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic by nearly a month until the end of May. It was originally set to expire on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo met his ministers in charge of the crisis and health issues on Sunday.
Dozens of Indonesian crewmembers of a cruise ship stricken with the coronavirus have left Japan for their home country after testing negative for the virus.
On Sunday, 44 Indonesians disembarked from the Costa Atlantica now moored at a shipyard in Japan's western prefecture of Nagasaki. They later boarded a plane bound for the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
The Japanese government is set to extend its nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak by nearly a month until May 31.
The government will ask an advisory expert panel for its opinion on the extension schedule on Monday. It will then inform the Diet of the plan before finalizing it at a taskforce meeting later in the day.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is set to extend the nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak by nearly a month until the end of May.
Abe received updates on the domestic situation in a meeting on Sunday from health minister Kato Katsunobu and Nishimura Yasutoshi, minister in charge of coronavirus response.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Japan increased to 15,077 on Sunday as 200 new cases were announced nationwide.
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.
Farmers in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, have sold vegetables at a drive-through market as many stores remain closed due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Fourteen farmers gathered at a parking lot of the municipal office building in Chuo City on Sunday. Shoppers were waiting for the makeshift market to open at 10 a.m. They bought tomatoes, turnips and other vegetables.
A top official at the US Embassy in Tokyo says the US military "remains ready and capable to deal with any kind of aggressive acts," even though coronavirus cases have been found on a US aircraft carrier and bases in Japan.
Charge d'Affaires ad interim Joseph Young gave a video interview to NHK on Friday. He said the US forces have taken "proactive measures to minimize the risk of infection and spread," and the US is ready to respond to any actor that might want to take advantage while the East Asian region is focused on the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has agreed to propose extending the state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak till the end of May. It is due to expire on May 6.
Abe met the minister in charge of Japan's coronavirus response, Nishimura Yasutoshi, and Health Minister Kato Katsunobu on Sunday, and agreed to propose an extension to a government panel.
An emergency seminar has been held online to help cope with alcohol addiction, as people are urged to stay home in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The Japan-based group called "Oneness Group" is working to help people recover from alcohol addiction.
A hospital in the western Japanese city of Kobe has found that about 3 percent of its outpatients carry coronavirus antibodies, indicating they were infected at one point.
A group of doctors, mainly from Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, collected 1,000 blood samples from patients who visited the hospital for reasons other than coronavirus symptoms between late March and early April.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo plans to express his intention to bring up the topic of emergency response in the Diet's debate on constitutional issues.
Sunday marks the 73rd anniversary of Japan's Constitution coming into effect. The prime minister plans to deliver a video message to an online forum held by a group seeking to amend the Constitution. Prior to the event, the content of the message has been disclosed to the media.
Health minister Kato Katsunobu says Japan aims to approve remdesivir, the antiviral drug that may be used to treat coronavirus, in about one week after receiving an application from the pharmaceutical company.
The ministry would aim for swift approval through special, highly-simplified procedures only available for drugs in urgent need that have already been approved in other countries.
The Japanese government is finalizing the details of its planned extension to the nationwide state of emergency, ahead of a formal decision on Monday.
On Friday, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said his government plans to keep the measure in place for about a month to contain the spread of the coronavirus. It was set to expire on Wednesday.