Japanese authorities and experts are preparing for the next steps in the fight against the coronavirus after a crucial three-week period draws to a close.
Daily new cases continue to surge, leading the government's panel of experts to issue advice.
Seventeen people being held at a police station in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department says the infected are men in their 20s through 70s.
Japanese government's panel of coronavirus experts have issued advice on a number of measures to address a surge in infections.
The recent spikes are bringing some local healthcare systems to the brink.
Japanese prosecutors are expected to indict the suspect in the deadly arson attack on Kyoto Animation last year, following his detention for psychiatric analysis.
Aoba Shinji is accused of setting fire to the studio in the city of Kyoto, western Japan, killing 36 people and injuring 33 in July last year.
Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus response says he will work closely with relevant governors on the "Go To Travel" campaign. He says it is likely the campaign would extend its exclusion of Sapporo and Osaka, cities with many coronavirus cases.
Nishimura Yasutoshi spoke to reporters on Friday.
The Japanese government is speeding up measures to strengthen infrastructure against floods and other natural disasters.
Cabinet ministers approved the five-year program on Friday with a price tag of 15-trillion-yen, or about 144-billion-dollars. It's expected to begin in the next fiscal year.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 595 new cases of the coronavirus in the Japanese capital on Friday.
The figure is the second-highest daily figure after the 602 cases reported the previous day.
Japan's coronavirus advisory panel has discussed the government's travel campaign and how people should spend the year-end and New Year holidays amid the spike of infections in the country.
The panel met for three hours on Friday morning. Those taking part included Nishimura Yasutoshi, the minister in charge of the coronavirus response, and health minister Tamura Norihisa.
Japan's Defense Minister says Self-Defense Force medical staff will be sent to Osaka Prefecture early next week to help deal with a surge in coronavirus infections.
Kishi Nobuo told a news conference on Friday that Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi had made an official request for SDF nurses.
The Japanese government has extended the Self-Defense Force's mission in the Middle East by one year, citing continued tension in the region.
The SDF's destroyer and patrol aircraft have been deployed in the region for an intelligence-gathering mission to ensure safe navigation for vessels related to Japan.
Japan's Science and Technology Policy Minister Inoue Shinji says the government plans to decide its policy on the country's leading academic body by the year-end.
Inoue was speaking to reporters after he received reform proposals for the Science Council of Japan from the main governing Liberal Democratic Party on Friday.
The annual Sapporo Snow Festival scheduled for January and February is expected to forgo its usual displays of snow and ice sculptures, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sapporo Mayor Akimoto Katsuhiro told reporters on Thursday that city officials have judged it would be difficult to hold the event in the usual style.
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.
The Japanese government's coronavirus advisory panel plans to urge more restraint during the year-end and New Year holidays in areas where infections are surging.
The panel members plan to have a meeting on Friday during which they will make proposals. They will call on people in areas where infections have reached Stage 3, the second-worst level on a 4-tier scale, to move their parties online and to reconsider visiting their hometowns.