Japan's health minister says the government will fast-track approval of the antiviral drug remdesivir as a possible treatment for the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Remdesivir is being developed abroad as a treatment for Ebola. It's now being clinically tested in several countries, including Japan, to see whether it's also effective against the coronavirus.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials reported 112 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, after the daily tally in the capital fell below 100 for two straight days.
Over 4,000 people have tested positive for the virus in the city of 14 million.
Japan will soon provide 38 countries with the anti-flu drug Avigan, which is seen as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu says the countries, which includes the Netherlands, the Philippines and Malaysia, will receive the anti-flu drug developed by a Japanese company.
Japan's health ministry has allowed dentists to carry out coronavirus tests when physicians and other qualified health care personnel are not available.
The ministry notified local governments that they can have dentists conduct PCR tests at local coronavirus testing centers as a special measure.
Japanese health officials say the country's fatality rate from confirmed coronavirus cases has inched up to 1.9 percent.
The health ministry says the number of people with confirmed infections in Japan stood at 13,232 as of 6 p.m. on Sunday. Cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and chartered planes from China are not included.
Pedestrian traffic was 40 to 70 percent lower than in pre-pandemic levels on Monday in most parts of Japan where the coronavirus continues to spread. The figures were largely unchanged from a week ago.
Mobile carrier NTT Docomo released pedestrian traffic data collected from its base stations without identifying users.
Workers have finished demolishing a Kyoto Animation studio that was damaged in a deadly arson attack in July last year.
The blaze claimed the lives of 36 employees and wounded 33 others.
Japan's Defense Ministry plans to draw up procedures in the event Self-Defense Force pilots encounter unidentified flying objects, or UFOs.
The US Defense Department on Monday released videos of what it claims to be UFOs racing through the sky.
In the period from April 13 to 19 in Japan, hundreds of welfare service providers for people with disabilities shuttered their operations due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
The health ministry says a total of 891 facilities in 35 of the country's 47 prefectures shut down during that span, including daycare and short-stay service providers.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Japan increased to 13,613 on Monday as 172 new cases were reported 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 at a port in Nagasaki, western Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has ordered measures to promote teleworking, in step with a nationwide effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Abe instructed Cabinet ministers Monday to allow businesses to file administrative forms without having to stamp them with a seal.
Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi has announced plans to develop a vaccine against the new coronavirus.
The company said Monday it hopes to offer a vaccine to 10 million people. Clinical trials are to begin by the end of the year, in coordination with Japan's health ministry and other parties.
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to draw up safety measures for workers after finding that some of the buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are in bad condition due to the 2011 accident.
TEPCO on Monday reported to the Nuclear Regulation Authority the results of its survey of about 580 buildings in the compound.
Japan's Finance Minister Aso Taro has called on Diet lawmakers to swiftly approve a supplementary budget bill to implement emergency economic measures.
The extra budget for the current fiscal year will partially fund a stimulus package worth 117 trillion yen, or about 1.1 trillion dollars, to shore up Japan's economy, which has been severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The package includes a cash handout of 100,000 yen to all residents in the country.