A new expert panel of Japan's government has met for the first time to assess the effectiveness of anti-coronavirus measures.
The four-member panel held its first meeting on Wednesday. Among the members are Kyoto University Professor Yamanaka Shinya and Professor Emeritus at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Kurokawa Kiyoshi.
US President Donald Trump has sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Yokota Shigeru, who died last month without seeing his daughter after her abduction by North Korea decades ago.
Yokota Megumi was abducted in 1977 on her way home from junior high school in Niigata City, on the Sea of Japan coast. Shigeru and his wife Sakie spearheaded efforts by the families of abductees to bring their loved ones back home. He died on June 5 at the age of 87.
A Japanese government regulation requiring all retailers to charge customers for plastic bags is being implemented from Wednesday. The move is aimed at reducing the amount of plastic waste.
Three major convenience store chains have begun charging about three cents for each bag at most of their stores.
Tokyo Metropolitan government officials say 67 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in the capital on Wednesday.
That is the highest daily tally since the state of emergency was lifted on May 25.
The Bank of Japan's latest quarterly Tankan survey shows that business confidence among large manufactures plunged to the lowest level in over a decade amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It shows that sentiment at big manufactures in Japan fell to minus 34 in the April-June quarter, down from minus 8 in the previous survey.
South Korea continues to oppose Japan's tightened controls on exports of industrial materials, one year after they were imposed.
Japan announced the measures on three materials essential to produce semiconductors on July 1 last year, citing security concerns.
The Bank of Japan's latest quarterly Tankan survey shows that business confidence among large manufactures plunged to the lowest level in over a decade. That's as the Japanese economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
It shows that sentiment at large manufactures fell to minus 34. The previous survey was minus 8.
Japan is keeping an eye on Hong Kong to see how the implementation of China's national security law for the territory will affect its democracy and Japanese business activity there.
China's top legislative body enacted the national security law on Tuesday to crack down on anti-government protests.
There are now more than 10.3 million coronavirus cases worldwide. And as the number continues to surge, scientists around the world are rushing to develop a vaccine. Researchers in Japan launched the country's first clinical trial on Tuesday.
Pharmaceutical company AnGes says trials are now being conducted on 30 healthy people at a university hospital in Osaka.
Researchers in Japan are working on a new way to estimate the death toll from the coronavirus in the country, using a method called "excess mortality."
The method estimates the death tally from an epidemic by comparing the expected number of fatalities if there had been no outbreak with the death toll that was actually recorded.
Weather officials are warning of possible flooding and torrential rain in wide areas of Japan through Wednesday. Record rainfall is expected in the Tokai region in central Japan.
The Meteorological Agency said a rain front and a low-pressure system are creating unstable atmospheric conditions and causing localized downpours across wide areas from western to eastern Japan.
Japan's top government spokesperson says it is regrettable that China is adopting a national security law for Hong Kong, despite strong concerns among residents and the international community.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide told reporters that he has yet to confirm media reports that China's top legislative body has approved the legislation.
Japanese municipalities and health officials confirmed 110 new cases of coronavirus infection across Japan on Monday, bringing the total to 18,631.
With the 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined at Yokohama port added, the total number of confirmed infections comes to 19,343.
The operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea has revealed measures to prevent coronavirus infections ahead of the parks' reopening on Wednesday.
Officials of Oriental Land explained measures to media on Monday. Both parks, located just outside Tokyo, have been closed for about four months because of the virus outbreak.