Japanese carriers are offering users a function to register and check whether a person is safe.
Three major mobile phone carriers -- NTT Docomo, KDDI and Softbank -- are now operating the disaster message board.
The Tokyo metropolitan government says 131 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the capital on Saturday. That's the highest since the state of emergency was lifted on May 25. It marks the third straight day with over 100 cases and brings Tokyo's total to 6,654.
Officials are telling people to be careful when visiting nighttime entertainment spots where a number of clusters have been found. They advise choosing bars or nightclubs that are taking steps against the virus.
It's election day in Tokyo. Voters will decide who should govern the capital for the next four years, but this time around there will be more face masks and social distancing.
The coronavirus also affected campaigning with mass rallies replaced by online vote-grabbing.
Japanese researchers say recent volcanic activity on Nishinoshima has caused the remote island in the Pacific to increase in size.
The activity has picked up at Nishinoshima, one of the Ogasawara Islands, since mid-June. The uninhabited island is far south of Tokyo.
People in Tokyo will head to the polls on Sunday to decide who should govern the Japanese capital for the next four years.
The election comes as the city's 14 million residents are resuming social and business activities after making major lifestyle changes to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.
Flooding in parts of southern Japan caused by torrential rain has inundated many residential areas. Authorities say over 15 people have no vital signs and others are missing.
A band of cloud hung over southern Japan on Saturday, dumping rain on Kumamoto Prefecture although the downpour has eased for now.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has instructed officials to take every possible measure to deal with rain disasters in the country's southwest, with the priority on saving lives.
Abe held a meeting of ministers on Saturday morning to discuss government responses, after a heavy rain emergency warning was issued for the prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide and other ministers attended.
Flooding in parts of southern Japan caused by torrential rain has inundated many residential areas. Authorities say more than 17 people have been found with no vital signs while others are missing.
A band of cloud hung over southern Japan on Saturday, dumping heavy rain on Kumamoto Prefecture. The rain has since eased.
Authorities say over 10 people are without vital signs and others are missing, after torrential rains and flooding hit parts of southern Japan.
A band of cloud hung over the region on Saturday, dumping rain on Kumamoto Prefecture, although the downpour has eased for now.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says there is no need to declare a state of emergency again despite rising numbers of coronavirus infections.
Abe met Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, who's in charge of the response to the national coronavirus and Health Minister Kato Katsunobu for about 30 minutes on Saturday.
The governor of Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan says 14 people have been found without vital signs at a nursing home for the elderly. That comes amid heavy flooding in the region.
Torrential rains have battered parts of southern Japan. Flooding is causing havoc in many residential areas.
Authorities say over 10 people have been found with no vital signs while others are missing.
Torrential rain in Japan's southern Kyushu region is causing a high risk of floods and landslides. As of 4 p.m. on Saturday, authorities had issued evacuation orders for 12 municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Japan's Coast Guard says Chinese patrol ships have entered Japanese territorial waters on consecutive days and sailed for an extended time within them.
The officials say two Chinese patrol ships entered the waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea after 4 p.m. on Thursday. They say the two ships repeatedly approached a Japanese fishing boat inside the territorial waters.