The Japanese government will likely extend its state of emergency declaration for COVID-19 in the Tokyo and Osaka areas beyond February 7. It will make a decision after hearing experts' views this week.

More than three weeks have passed since the state of emergency was declared for Tokyo and three of its neighboring prefectures. Osaka and six other prefectures have been under the declaration for more than two weeks. It is due to be lifted on February 7.

Japanese officials confirmed 2,673 new cases of the coronavirus as of 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Tokyo reported the highest number of 633, followed by Kanagawa Prefecture with 390 new infections.

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic says it will stop making solar cells by the end of fiscal 2021 as part of an effort to exit loss-making businesses.

The company makes the cells at its plants in Malaysia and Shimane Prefecture, western Japan. The cells consist of semiconductors that convert light into electricity, and are a key component for solar power generation.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 633 new cases of the coronavirus in the Japanese capital on Sunday.

The daily tally has remained below 1,000 for three days in a row.

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Forces have begun providing medical support for people in an Okinawa island city infected with the coronavirus.

Miyakojima City, with a population of about 55,000, reported more than 110 cases during the five-day period through Saturday. With the city's health care system under pressure, Okinawa Prefecture requested the deployment of GSDF nurses to the city.

Health officials in Japan say they believe the first cluster of infections of a coronavirus variant which has been prevalent in Britain has hit near Tokyo.

The new strain is believed to be more contagious than the original.

Professional baseball pitcher Tanaka Masahiro, who is rejoining his former Japanese team after playing seven seasons for the New York Yankees, told a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday that he wants to win the national title again.

Tanaka is returning eight years after he led the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to their first Japan Series victory. Team owner Mikitani Hiroshi and manager Ishii Kazuhisa joined him at the conference.

A railway operator on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido has started a service offering tourists views of ice floes that wash up on the shores of Okhotsk.

The first Ryuhyo Monogatari Train of the season departed from Abashiri Station on the JR Senmo Line after a ceremony on Saturday. About 20 people were on board, mostly tourists from other parts of Hokkaido.

Some elderly citizens in Japan have refrained from using nursing care services as the country faces its third-wave surge of coronavirus cases.

Care providers are concerned that reduced use of the services could cause the physical and mental function of the elderly to deteriorate, which happened last year.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed 769 new cases of the coronavirus in the Japanese capital on Saturday.

The daily tally has fallen below 1,000 for two days in a row.

There is a growing view within the Japanese government that a state of emergency covering 11 prefectures may have to continue beyond the planned end date in some areas.

The measure was initially declared for the Tokyo region in early January to curb a surge in coronavirus cases. It was later expanded to cover Osaka and other areas, and is set to run until February 7.

NHK has learned that US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has submitted data to Japan's health ministry on clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine that were held in the country. The ministry plans to decide whether to approve the vaccine next month.

Sources say Pfizer on Friday submitted data from trials that involved 160 Japanese people aged 20 or older.

From Saturday, Japan's government will start sending freezers for storing coronavirus vaccines to 100 facilities tasked with inoculating medical workers prioritized to receive the first doses.

The Prime Minister's Office made the announcement on Friday via Twitter.

In Japan, governors of Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures are contemplating the future of the current state of emergency --- as infections continue to spread.

The declaration for Tokyo and 10 other prefectures is set to expire February 7th.