Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary says the government will hold a working group meeting early next year to discuss ways to alleviate Okinawa Prefecture's burden of hosting US military bases.
The southern prefecture hosts about 70 percent of the US military facilities in Japan. Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu is in charge of reducing this burden.
Female leaders from African countries attending an international conference in Tokyo have stressed the need to take measures to ensure a stable food supply.
The first Asia Pacific Africa Women's Economic Exchange Summit opened on Monday. The conference was organized by a Japanese organization supporting African nations. Participants include female leaders from seven African countries, such as Uganda and Malawi and Japanese lawmakers.
Japan's government is seeking to gain consensus from the ruling parties over the proposed development of a new long-range cruise missile.
The "standoff missile" has a much longer firing range than the Ground Self-Defense Force's current surface-to-ship model. It can be launched from a point far enough away to evade fire from the target.
Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has conveyed to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison hope for a stronger bilateral partnership to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Morrison arrived in Japan on Tuesday for a two-day stay. He met Suga at the prime minister's office in Tokyo.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc are holding talks in Hanoi. They are expected to discuss strengthening regional security and boosting economic ties.
It's Suga's first overseas trip since taking office last month. The visit comes just weeks before Vietnam is set to host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It's Suga's first face-to-face diplomacy since taking office.
The two are believed to have confirmed efforts to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance.
Political factions in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are discussing potential candidates to succeed Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
The LDP is expected to decide when and how to choose its next leader in a General Council meeting on Tuesday. Discussions on the potential candidates are starting in earnest before the decision comes.
Japan's newly established subcommittee on coronavirus measures has called for thorough testing of people with a high risk of having the pathogen.
The head of the government's subcommittee, Omi Shigeru, spoke at a news conference after the group's first meeting on Monday. Omi is also the chief of Japan Community Health care Organization.
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.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the leaders of the Group of Seven countries will hold a video conference on Monday to discuss how to work together to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Abe told an Upper House committee on Monday that Japan must use its knowledge and cooperate with countries around the world to deal with the challenge.
The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the plunge in Tokyo stocks, caused by anxiety about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.
The meeting brought together senior officials from the BOJ, the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed the outbreak of coronavirus by telephone on Sunday evening.
Motegi told Wang that Japan will provide whatever support it can to limit the spread of the virus.
Senior officials from Japan and Russia have held talks regarding joint economic activities on four Russian-controlled islands claimed by Japan.
They met in Moscow Wednesday for more than four hours. Japan sent officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, economy and the environment, as well as from tourism and fishery agencies.
A senior US State Department official says the US government plans to discuss with Japan how to share overall defense responsibilities, in addition to the cost of keeping US troops in the country.
The current five-year agreement on the cost of stationing US forces in Japan will expire in March 2021. President Donald Trump's administration has asked Japan to significantly increase its share of the burden.