People are now able to freely visit parts of a town in Japan's northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, where entry restrictions had been in place since the nuclear accident caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The restrictions were eased on Monday in parts of the Shimonogami and Kuma districts of Okuma Town. These districts had been designated as "difficult-to-return" zones. Gates preventing entry were removed at 9 a.m.
Japan's communications ministry has released an interim report acknowledging that government officials were wined and dined by the president of telecom giant NTT. The report says the officials' actions violated the ethics code for public servants, which bans them from receiving gifts or being entertained by interested parties.
The central figure is Taniwaki Yasuhiko, the vice minister for policy coordination. Communications Minister Takeda Ryota says he was moved to the minister's secretariat on Monday.
Japan's communications minister Takeda Ryota says a senior bureaucrat has been transferred after wining and dining with the president of the telecom giant NTT. The ministry released an interim report on Monday, saying the official's actions violated the ethics code for public servants. They are banned from receiving gifts or being entertained by interested parties.
The official in question is Taniwaki Yasuhiko, vice minister for policy coordination.
The fourth shipment of a coronavirus vaccine has reached Japan.
The vaccine, developed by US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, arrived at Narita Airport, near Tokyo, from Belgium on Monday.
Japanese airlines are trying to boost domestic passenger numbers by offering the reassurance of PCR testing at low cost. The move comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt their bottom line.
Japan Airlines says all domestic passengers can take a PCR test for less than 20 dollars from March 15 until the end of June. Eligibility requires membership in the airline's mileage club.
Coronavirus vaccinations have begun for the medical staff members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces. The drive is part of a program that aims to give priority vaccinations to medical workers across the country.
Workers at the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital in Tokyo were the first to receive shots on Monday.
Japanese banks saw their loan balances reach another record high last month as companies and individuals continued to borrow money to cope with the pandemic.
The Bank of Japan said on Monday that average outstanding debts for February topped 578 trillion yen, or 5.3 trillion dollars.
Japan's communications minister says a senior bureaucrat has been transferred for wining and dining with the president of the telecom giant NTT. Takeda Ryota says the official's actions may have violated the ethics code for public servants, which bans them from receiving gifts or being entertained by interested parties.
The official in question is Taniwaki Yasuhiko, the vice minister for policy coordination. Takeda says Taniwaki has been transferred to the ministry's secretariat.
People in Fukuoka, western Japan, have expressed concerns about a possible surge of coronavirus infections in the prefecture after the state of emergency was lifted a week ago.
NHK has analyzed location information collected on mobile phones to detect changes in the movement of people around JR Hakata and Kokura Stations on the first Saturday after the state of emergency was lifted at the end of last month.
Japan's health ministry says a third case of a severe allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, following a coronavirus vaccination has been reported in the country.
The ministry says a female healthcare worker in her 30s started coughing about five minutes after getting inoculated on Sunday. Other symptoms included difficult breathing and throat discomfort.
Japan's health ministry says a second case of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, following coronavirus vaccination has been reported in the country.
The ministry says a female healthcare worker in her 20s had a rash about 25 minutes after getting inoculated on Friday. Other symptoms such as coughing, fever, low blood pressure and difficulty breathing followed.
The UN crime congress has kicked off in the Japanese city of Kyoto with thorough anti-coronavirus measures in place.
The UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is the first large-scale international conference to be held in the country since the outbreak began.
Tokyo's Ueno Zoo has announced that a pair of giant pandas have mated for the first time in four years.
The zoo confirmed that the male Ri Ri and the female Shin Shin mated around 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Japanese defense officials say they intend to closely monitor how China will increase its defense spending this year.
The Chinese government presented this year's draft budget at the annual session of the National People's Congress, which opened on Friday.