The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it confirmed 522 new cases of coronavirus on Friday.

The daily tally had topped 500 for the first time on Thursday, when the figure reached 534.

The World Health Organization has advised against administering the antiviral drug remdesivir to hospitalized coronavirus patients, regardless of how ill they are.

The WHO made the recommendation on Friday as part a guideline on clinical care for COVID-19.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu says there is no need at the moment to review the country's approval of the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19.

Kato spoke to reporters on Friday after the World Health Organization published a guideline recommending that the drug should not be used for hospitalized coronavirus patients.

Japan's science minister has announced that two Japanese astronauts have been chosen for future missions to the International Space Station.

Science minister Hagiuda Koichi told reporters on Friday that Wakata Koichi will head to the ISS sometime around 2022, and Furukawa Satoshi around 2023.

Japan's health ministry has called on public health centers to make it mandatory to conduct coronavirus tests at facilities for the elderly when any of the residents or staff develops a fever or other symptoms.

The ministry issued a notice to public health centers across the country via prefectural governments on Thursday.

Japanese officials confirmed more than 2,300 cases of coronavirus infection across the country on Thursday, a new daily record.

The daily count first crossed the 2,000 threshold on Wednesday. The rising numbers have come with record tallies in several prefectures.

A ship carrying elementary school students and teachers has been hit by a drifting object in western Japan. All people on board were rescued before it sank.

The Japan Coast Guard say officials received a report on Thursday afternoon that a ship traveling off Kagawa Prefecture's Sakaide City had collided with an object and water was flowing into the vessel.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has urged residents not to eat and drink in large groups, to keep the coronavirus out of their homes.

The governor made the call on Thursday, when the capital for the first time reported more than 500 new cases of the virus.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has started asking hospitals to increase beds for coronavirus patients in serious condition, aiming to double the number of such beds in the capital.

The decision was made at a taskforce meeting on Thursday as Tokyo saw its daily count of new infections hit a record high of 534.

Japanese officials confirmed more than 2,300 cases across the country on Thursday -- a new daily record --and the continuation of a worrying trend.

The daily count first crossed the 2,000 threshold on Wednesday. But numbers have now climbed higher -- even before all of the prefectural tallies are logged.

The surge in coronavirus cases across Japan is putting a damper on plans for the festive season, with many bosses say they won't throw parties for their employees this year.

A research firm surveyed more than 10,000 companies about their plans to celebrate the end of 2020 and the start of 2021.

Data released by a group of researchers show the average 10-year survival rate of cancer patients in Japan stands at 58.3 percent.

The group analyzed data samples of more than 94,000 people who were diagnosed with cancer at 21 cancer treatment institutions across the country between 2004 and 2007.

Data obtained by NHK show that Chinese patrol ships have repeatedly made complicated movements in waters off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, forcing Japan Coast Guard vessels to deal with them with increased difficulty.

Chinese government ships sailed in Japan's territorial waters off the islands in the East China Sea or the contiguous zone just outside the waters for 300 days this year as of Thursday, renewing a record high.

Japan has broken a record for daily coronavirus cases, confirming 2,208 infections so far on Thursday.

The number has topped 2,000 for two consecutive days.