The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has added 12 more women to its board, pushing the ratio of female members to over 40 percent.

The committee's board on Tuesday put forward the plan to increase its female members, and it was approved at a meeting of the committee's council on Wednesday.

The new chief of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee is in talks with the heads of the international Olympic and Paralympic committees, Japan's Olympic minister, and the Tokyo governor. They are believed to be discussing ways to deal with overseas spectators and how many spectators should be allowed.

The meeting began Wednesday evening. The organizing committee's president Hashimoto Seiko and Japan's Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Marukawa Tamayo are talking online with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko.

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he may extend the state of emergency for the greater Tokyo area.

The emergency decree is due to expire on Sunday in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials confirmed 316 new coronavirus cases in the capital on Wednesday.

The figure is 103 more than a week ago.

The Japanese government plans to carefully consider until the last moment whether a coronavirus state of emergency can be lifted in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures. It believes the infection situation has not improved enough.

The emergency declaration issued is due to expire on March 7.

Tokyo prosecutors are set to question two Americans who arrived in Japan and were arrested on charges of helping the former Nissan chairman to escape from the country.

US court documents show that Carlos Ghosn paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a company managed by one of the two men.

Japan's health ministry says a woman in her 60s died on Monday, three days after receiving a coronavirus vaccine. It is the first time in Japan that a person who has been vaccinated has died.

The ministry says the woman, a healthcare worker, received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last Friday.

The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has decided to increase the ratio of women on its board to 40 percent by adding 12 more women.

The organizing committee on Tuesday held a board meeting to discuss a plan to increase the number of female board members.

More than 70 percent of Japanese women who responded to a survey said men are getting preferential treatment in the country, while about half of male respondents said they felt the same.

A research institute belonging to ad giant Dentsu Group conducted a poll on gender equality last month, covering 3,000 men and women aged between 18 and 79 across the country.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents in an NHK survey say they want fewer or no nuclear power plants in Japan.

NHK conducted the nationwide survey last November and December, almost 10 years after the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in March 2011. More than 2,300 people responded.

Japanese marathon runner Kawauchi Yuki has received a certificate from Guinness World Records for completing the most number of marathons under 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Kawauchi said on Tuesday that he's neither the fastest nor the strongest runner in Japan, but reached the record by running diligently in each race.

The Lower House of Japan's Diet has approved a record budget worth more than 106 trillion yen, or about 1 trillion dollars, for next fiscal year starting in April.

The budget includes spending to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, promote digital transformation, work toward carbon neutrality, and help people receive infertility treatment.

Japanese astronaut Hoshide Akihiko has expressed his enthusiasm for his mission on the International Space Station.

Hoshide was speaking in an online news conference.

Japanese police have arrested a man for fatally wounding a wild deer at a park in Nara City, western Japan.

Herds of wild deer roaming Nara Park are protected after being designated a natural treasure by the government more than 60 years ago.