Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has announced that the government will temporarily suspend its "Go To Travel" campaign across the country from December 28 to January 11. The move is aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus infections during the year-end and New Year holidays.

Suga made the announcement at a government taskforce meeting on Monday evening.

An NHK opinion poll shows that the approval rate for Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide's Cabinet dropped to 42 percent, down 14 points from last month. The disapproval rate rose to 36 percent, up 17 points.

The telephone survey was conducted over the weekend. More than 1,200 people responded.

Japan's government finalized plans for social security reforms on Monday. Officials hope the changes will make the system more balanced and beneficial across age groups.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said, "Japan's population is aging rapidly with fewer children. We have a responsibility to pass on a social security system that limits the burden on working people and offers all generations peace of mind."

An annual event choosing the kanji, or Chinese character, that best summarizes this year's atmosphere in Japan has been held.

The kanji of 2020 chosen through a contest is read as "mitsu" meaning "close" or "dense." The character was used in the government's anti-coronavirus campaign of avoiding the Three C's: closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings.

Seven nurses from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force are being sent to two medical centers in Osaka Prefecture to help deal with a surge in coronavirus infections at the request of the prefectural government.

A departure ceremony was held on Monday at Camp Itami of the GSDF's Middle Army in Itami City in Hyogo Prefecture.

Japan's prime minister says the government will entirely suspend its domestic travel subsidy campaign late this month as the number of new coronavirus infections remains at record high levels.

NHK has learned that the capsule from the Hayabusa2 space probe contains sand particles believed to be from the asteroid Ryugu.

The capsule was retrieved last week after traveling more than 5 billion kilometers.

A museum in Hiroshima that documents the 1945 atomic bombing of the city has been temporarily closed amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is one of 45 facilities in the western Japanese city that officials have decided to temporarily close to reduce personal contact.

A closely-watched survey by Japan's central bank shows confidence is improving at big manufacturers in the country, but remains in negative territory.

The Bank of Japan's latest Tankan report came out on Monday.

Japan is seeing a surge in coronavirus cases across the country. Daily cases topped 3,000 for the first time on Saturday. The spread of infections will likely affect the way people spend the year-end holidays.

The minister in charge of the COVID-19 response said the government is approaching the situation with a sense of extreme urgency.

NHK has learned that about one-third of coronavirus cases confirmed last month in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido were not recorded in a government database because medical staff there are too busy treating patients.

The government introduced the HER-SYS database in May to grasp the infection situation in real time. Medical institutions and public health centers nationwide are asked to immediately input data on confirmed cases.

A group of researchers in Japan has developed a tool to detect mental distress in medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical workers are said to be at high risk of developing mental health problems due to fears of coronavirus infection and social stigma.

A major Buddhist temple in the city of Narita near Tokyo has been spruced up for the New Year.

About 40 monks and staff members wearing masks gathered in the main hall of Naritasan Shinshoji Temple shortly after 5:00 a.m. and began dusting Buddhist statues and altar ornaments with brushes and cloths.

Seven "kawari hagoita" wooden paddles portraying prominent people of the year were put on display on Sunday.

A doll wholesaler in the capital city has been making the paddles every year since 1986, using a traditional Japanese "oshie" quilting technique.