Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will soon hold a news conference to call on residents to refrain from non-essential outing this weekend to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump have discussed the decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games that were scheduled for this summer.

Abe and Trump spoke on the phone Wednesday morning, Japan time, for about 40 minutes. The talks came at the request of Japan's side.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump have discussed the decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Abe and Trump spoke on the phone Wednesday for about 40 minutes.

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics face a host of tasks to tackle as they prepare for a postponement of the games for about one year.

The International Olympic Committee decided on Tuesday to put off the games until the summer of 2021 at the latest due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan reported the highest daily count of 71 infections with the new coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,211.

The figure was provided by the health ministry and local governments. It includes 14 cases confirmed among people who returned from China's Hubei Province on chartered flights.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach have agreed to hold the Tokyo Games by the summer of 2021 at the latest.

Abe and Bach talked over the phone on Tuesday to discuss what to do about the Games. That comes in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

NHK has learned that Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has drafted a plan for disposing of radioactive wastewater stored at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Water used to cool molten nuclear fuel from the 2011 accident is treated to remove most radioactive material. But tritium and other substances remain in the water, a huge amount of which is stored in about 1,000 large tanks.

Prosecutors in western Japan have indicted two secretaries of Upper House member Anri Kawai and her husband on charges of violating the election law. They are also seeking to nullify her election win based on guilt by association.

The Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office on Tuesday indicted Hiroshi Tatemichi, a secretary for Anri Kawai, and Shinsuke Takaya, a secretary for former justice minister and Lower House member Katsuyuki Kawai.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach have agreed to hold the Tokyo Games by next summer at the latest.

Abe and Bach talked over the phone on Tuesday to discuss what to do about the Games. That comes in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japanese government says Prime Minster Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will hold a telephone conference on Tuesday.

Abe will talk with Bach over the phone from the prime minister's official residence at 8 p.m. Japan time. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, Yoshiro Mori, are expected to be present.

A leading US newspaper has quoted a member of the International Olympic Committee as saying the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games has been decided.

On Monday, USA Today reported on a phone interview it had had with IOC member Dick Pound.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing to have a teleconference with the head of the International Olympic Committee. Tokyo plans to ask the IOC to make a decision as quickly as possible on how the Games should be handled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Abe wants to discuss the matter with IOC President Thomas Bach, while joined by the head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee and the governor of Tokyo.

The International Olympic Committee is initiating talks with organizers as well as the governments of Tokyo and Japan on how to handle the Tokyo Games, including a possible postponement.

If the Games which are scheduled to open on July 24 are delayed because of the new coronavirus, many difficulties lie ahead.

SoftBank Group is selling assets worth up to 4.5 trillion yen, or about 41 billion dollars. The Japanese IT giant will use the money to buy back its shares and reduce debt over the next 12 months.

Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son says the move will strengthen the firm's balance sheet while significantly reducing debt. The coronavirus pandemic caused the group's share price to fall by half in the past month.