Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says the government will work to make sure healthcare services are available to deal with coronavirus infections during the year-end and New Year holidays.

Suga was speaking on Monday at a government taskforce meeting that was called to discuss measures against the virus.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has pledged to work with the government of Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido to curb the spread of the coronavirus there.

Hokkaido Governor Suzuki Naomichi visited the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday to brief Suga about the recent surge of infections in his prefecture.

Japan's health minister has vowed to double the daily capacity of coronavirus antigen tests at airports to 20,000 as Japan eases entry restrictions for foreigners from around the world.

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Tamura Norihisa visited the quarantine station at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday. He inspected how saliva-based antigen tests were conducted for entrants to Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has vowed full support for the effort to ensure fair access to coronavirus drugs and vaccines, including in developing countries.

He addressed the UN General Assembly via video.

The head of the International Paralympic Committee has pledged to actively prepare for next year's Tokyo Games while prioritizing measures to prevent coronavirus infections.

IPC President Andrew Parsons spoke to NHK as Monday marks a year until the opening of the postponed Paralympics.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has pledged continued support for "hibakusha," or survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing, following an appeal by the city and prefecture of Hiroshima of a ruling on so-called "black rain."

Last month a district court in Hiroshima recognized people who were exposed to the radioactive rain immediately after the bombing as "hibakusha."

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says he will work to prevent the elderly and other vulnerable people from contracting the coronavirus to avoid declaring another state of emergency.

Abe held a news conference in Nagasaki on Sunday after attending the Peace Memorial Ceremony to remember the victims of the atomic bomb.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo pledged to stand by aging atomic bomb survivors in his speech during a ceremony marking 75 years since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Abe gave the address at the Peace Park in the southwestern Japanese city on Sunday. Japan also marked the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says the government will carry out economic and fiscal reforms as the coronavirus outbreak is expected to further strain state finances.

Abe made the pledge after the Cabinet Office presented its latest projections at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy on Friday.

The family of Yokota Shigeru, who died last week without seeing his daughter after her abduction by North Korea, has vowed to carry on efforts to bring her home.

Yokota's daughter Megumi was abducted in 1977 on her way home from junior high school.