Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he has agreed with the leaders of Vietnam and Indonesia to work together to build a peaceful and prosperous future in the Indo-Pacific region.
Suga spoke to reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday, at the end of his first overseas visit since taking office last month.
Japan and China are continuing talks to resume business trips between the two countries as early as October.
The Japanese government has gradually eased entry restrictions it had in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It has already resumed business travel with both South Korea and Singapore.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and President Joko Widodo have called for continued cooperation on matters including health, security and the economy.
After the summit meeting, the leaders held a news conference.
An old sake brewer just north of Tokyo has begun preparations for its first brew of the sake season.
The brewery, Igarashi Syuzo, was established in the city of Hanno, Saitama Prefecture in 1897. On Tuesday, workers steamed rice grown especially to make sake. After letting it cool on a machine, they put it in a tank and slowly stirred it using a three-meter-long stick.
A Japanese civic group has urged the government to consider more options for the disposal of radioactive wastewater stored at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy, which offers advice on the country's nuclear policy, held an online news conference and issued a statement on Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Indonesian President Joko Widodo have reaffirmed their countries' ties at a summit outside Jakarta.
Suga met Joko at the presidential palace in Bogor shortly after arriving in Indonesia on Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are holding talks.
Suga chose Vietnam and Indonesia as the destinations for his first overseas trip since taking office last month.
Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo says protection of foreign military assets by Japan's Self-Defense Forces should be viewed differently from the use of force.
Kishi and Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds agreed on Monday that Australian naval vessels will be included among foreign military assets the Self-Defense Forces are able to protect under Japan's new security legislation enacted in 2015.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says it will soon start clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine in Japan.
Pfizer announced on Tuesday that 160 Japanese aged 20 to 85 will take part in the trials. They are to be vaccinated twice, with a three-week interval.
Japan's new Prime Minister is on to the second leg of his inaugural trip abroad as the country's leader.
After leaving Vietnam, Suga Yoshihide has arrived in Indonesia where he is set to meet President Joko Widodo.
Japan's top government spokesperson has expressed the government's intention to allow the resumption of business trips to and from China while implementing anti-coronavirus measures.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu referred to discussions now under way with China on whether to allow the resumption of business travel between the two countries.
An edited version of a book written by Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide eight years ago has hit the stores in Japan. In the book, he promises to fight the coronavirus and protect jobs, but a passage referring to the government's management of official documents has been left out.
The book summarizing Suga's political views was published on Tuesday with new interviews and other content added.
Japan's Empress Emerita Michiko turned 86 on Tuesday.
She and her husband, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, have been living at a temporary residence in Tokyo since late March. They have refrained from going out or accepting guests amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials reported 139 new infections of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday.
There have now been 29,185 confirmed cases in the capital.