Japan's government has decided to allow Osaka and two other prefectures to take stricter coronavirus measures without an emergency declaration. The designation will be in effect for one month starting Monday.
Cities in Osaka and two other Japanese prefectures are battling a resurgence of coronavirus infections. The central government is set to designate those areas as places in need of stricter antivirus measures for one month starting Monday.
The government's panel of experts approved the designation on Thursday morning.
The Governor of Osaka says the Olympic torch relay should be canceled in the prefectural capital, where he plans to implement stricter coronavirus measures to stem a surge in cases.
Yoshimura Hirofumi spoke to reporters on Thursday as the central government planned to designate Osaka Prefecture as requiring focused anti-virus steps for one month starting next Monday.
Japanese trading firm Itochu has welcomed new recruits in a virtual ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Itochu chairman Okafuji Masahiro and the firm's president, Ishii Keita, were waiting for the 115 recruits at the entrance of the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday morning, the first day of the new fiscal year.
The Japanese government will allow Osaka, Hyogo, and Miyagi prefectures to take stricter virus measures for one month from Monday.
The plan was approved by the government's panel of experts on the coronavirus on Thursday.
Senior foreign ministry officials of Japan and South Korea are meeting in Tokyo to discuss a range of bilateral issues.
The head of Japan's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Funakoshi Takehiro, and South Korea's director general for Asian and Pacific affairs, Lee Sang-ryol, began their talks at Japan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
Japan's Meteorological Agency has decided not to use the term "aftershocks" for post-quake tremors near the epicenter to keep people from letting their guard down.
The agency designated a zone 600 kilometers long and 350 kilometers wide off northeastern Japan as an "aftershock area," where seismic activity had increased since a powerful earthquake ten years ago.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has used his official Twitter account to call on the country's young people to observe anti-coronavirus measures.
Suga congratulated new students and workers in a tweet on Thursday, the first day of the school and business year for many people in Japan.
Japan's health ministry has begun discussing how to conduct the country's first clinical trial of medical cannabis. The medical use of cannabis is currently restricted under Japanese law.
The start of the discussions was reported on Wednesday at a meeting of the ministry's expert panel on cannabis use.
The Japanese government plans to issue a designation to Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, allowing it to take stricter antivirus measures, without a state of emergency declaration, as coronavirus cases are rising again there.
The government is expected to reach the decision on Thursday at a meeting of its taskforce. Osaka will be the first prefecture to be allowed such strong measures against the virus.
Japan's Financial Services Agency and the Tokyo Stock Exchange plan to urge businesses to disclose their management strategies and risks of losses related to climate change.
The two organizations made public draft revisions to the Corporate Governance Code on Wednesday. The code is a set of guidelines aimed at increasing transparency in the management of listed companies.
A Japanese government panel is investigating the parent company and operator of the Line messaging app over its management of people's personal data.
The Personal Information Protection Commission launched the investigation into Line and Z Holdings on Wednesday.
A new law requiring companies to try to keep their workers on the payroll until age 70 takes effect on Thursday in Japan.
A survey by the ministry of internal affairs found there were a record 9.06 million working people aged 65 or older last year. Those older workers accounted for 13.6 percent of the entire workforce.
Organizers of the Tokyo Paralympics say torch flames for the event will be collected from more than 880 locations across Japan.
The games' organizing committee said on Wednesday that flame lightings will start on August 12, after the Tokyo Olympics. Each location is to use its own lighting method.