The Meteorological Agency says Japan has entered the rainy season, except for the northern part of the Tohoku region.

Agency officials said on Thursday that a seasonal rain front and warm, damp air are creating unstable atmospheric conditions over western and eastern Japan.

Weather officials are forecasting localized torrential rainfall in western and eastern Japan through early Friday, and are warning of mudslides and flooding.

The Meteorological Agency says a front stretching along the Honshu region and warm humid air are making atmospheric conditions unstable over a wide area of western and eastern Japan.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is expected to lift its alert for the spread of the coronavirus unless there is a surge in infections on Thursday.

The government issued a "Tokyo alert" on June 2, citing signs of increased infections.

Honda Motor says production remains halted at one of its factories in the United States due to a cyberattack on the company's internal computer network.

The cyberattack caused a problem with the network on Monday, affecting production and shipments at the car maker's plants in Japan and overseas.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says Japan will play a leading role in the Group of Seven economic powers issuing a statement on Hong Kong affairs.

Abe said in the Diet on Wednesday that Japan has expressed concern over developments in Hong Kong, following China's decision to introduce national security legislation aimed at cracking down on anti-government protesters in the territory.

The Japanese labor ministry says non-regular workers account for about 60 percent of people who have recently lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry says 4,210 people were let go or had their contracts terminated, or were expected to lose their jobs in the week through last Friday.

Japanese business giant SoftBank Group found about 0.4 percent of people tested positive for coronavirus antibodies in a survey it conducted. Having antibodies means that the person has contracted the virus in the past.

The group released the preliminary results of the survey in a live-streamed event on Tuesday.

Temperatures soared on Tuesday across wide areas in Japan. The country is no stranger to blazing summers, but the need to wear facemasks due to the coronavirus poses a health risk all of its own -- heatstroke.

A high-pressure system pushed temperatures up. The mercury topped 35 degrees Celsius in a part of Fukuoka Prefecture in the southwest, and some other areas.

The family of Yokota Shigeru, who died last week without seeing his daughter after her abduction by North Korea, has vowed to carry on efforts to bring her home.

Yokota's daughter Megumi was abducted in 1977 on her way home from junior high school.

Temperatures soared across most of Japan on Tuesday, with the mercury topping 35 degrees Celsius in southern and western regions.

The Meteorological Agency says clear skies brought by a high pressure system extending from western to northeastern Japan, combined with an influx of warm air from the south, have caused temperatures to soar.

Japan's labor ministry is tackling a second data leak from an online system for businesses applying for coronavirus subsidies.

The system was launched on May 20 but was suspended hours later after officials learned that the personal details of applicants were exposed.

Japan's health officials reported no new infections of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday morning.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country stands at 17,223.

Japan's health minister has indicated the government is considering scaling down its annual ceremony in August commemorating the war-dead.

Kato Katsunobu told reporters on Tuesday that full precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The latest Japanese government figures show the average monthly wage for workers declined in April as businesses closed voluntarily to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The labor ministry released the preliminary results on Tuesday, from its survey of more than 30,000 businesses across the country.