Members of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party speculate that some officials are poising themselves to become the next party leader.
LDP policy chief Kishida Fumio and former LDP secretary-general Ishiba Shigeru are among those tipped as a possible successor to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
An amusement park in Tokyo's waterfront area has opened its doors for the first time in about three months. That comes after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government lifted the capital's coronavirus alert and eased restrictions on businesses.
Tokyo Joypolis, an indoor amusement park in the Daiba district, reopened on Saturday after taking steps to prevent infections. It had been closed since early March due to the coronavirus.
For the first time in nearly three months, a street in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district has been reopened to pedestrian traffic only.
On Saturday morning, police officers set up fences along the street in central Ginza to block vehicle traffic.
A scenic train in Kyoto, western Japan, is running again after suspending services in early April due to the coronavirus.
The Sagano Romantic Train travels along the Hozu-gawa River from Sagano to Kameoka in Kyoto.
Japan's health ministry is planning to roll out a coronavirus contact-tracing app as early as next week.
The ministry revealed an outline on Friday.
Health authorities in Japan's northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido, have reported dozens of coronavirus infections at cafes where people perform karaoke.
They say 41 customers and staff were infected at 18 cafes in the prefectural capital, Sapporo, and its surrounding areas.
Japanese lawmakers have passed a second supplementary budget to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Upper House approved the bill on Friday. The package is worth a record 31.9 trillion yen, or almost 300 billion dollars.
Japan's defense ministry has resumed landfill work to build a US military base in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, after a two-month suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The landfill is part of a plan to move the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from Ginowan City to the less-populated Henoko district of Nago City.
Japan's Upper House budget committee approved a second supplementary budget for the current fiscal year on Friday to respond to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The budget is expected to be enacted in the afternoon at a plenary session.
The economic package is worth 31.9 trillion yen, or more than 298 billion dollars, a record for a supplementary budget.
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has released footage showing part of the time-consuming steps needed to remove nuclear fuel from a pool at its No.1 reactor.
In the video, workers used remote-controlled tools to place a wide sheet over the surface of the pool. The radiation level there remains high.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is lifting the capital's coronavirus alert. This paves the way for step three, which allows bars and restaurants to stay open until midnight and allows amusement parks and pachinko parlors to reopen.
The metropolitan government issued a "Tokyo alert" on June 2nd following a spike in cases. The alert urged residents to remain vigilant against the virus with government buildings lit up in red as a reminder.
An NHK survey has found that COVID-19 has lingering effects on some patients after testing negative for the virus and being discharged from hospital.
Hospital doctors treating coronavirus patients say people should know that various problems can persist after patients' discharge from hospital. They also say they hope for a wider network of support to be created for those people.
The Tokyo metropolitan government is moving to lift its coronavirus alert and further ease restrictions on business operations.
Tokyo officials say 22 new infections were confirmed in the Japanese capital on Thursday. Infection routes have yet to be traced for 10 of them.
NHK has learned that the Tokyo metropolitan government is moving to lift its coronavirus alert after 22 new infections were confirmed on Thursday.
Tokyo officials now plan to further ease restrictions on business operations on Friday.