Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko says she will consider steps relating to the central government's "Go To Travel" domestic tourism campaign, while monitoring the situation of coronavirus infections in the capital.

Koike told reporters on Saturday that the metropolitan government has sent inquiries to relevant ministries and agencies to obtain details of the campaign's temporary suspension. She said she will consider what to do after receiving responses.

Japan's transport ministry has asked taxi drivers to use the fresh air mode of their vehicles' air conditioners to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. It also requested that they wear masks and ask passengers to do the same.

The ministry sent the requests through a taxi industry group after studying simulations by the supercomputer Fugaku at the RIKEN research institute.

WASHINGTON — Honda said on Saturday it has confirmed a 17th U.S. death tied to a faulty Takata air bag inflator.

The Japanese automaker said that after a joint inspection with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it confirmed a faulty air bag inflator was to blame for the Aug. 20 crash of a 2002 Honda Civic that led to the death of a driver in Mesa, Arizona.

Tokyo officials say 187 people died of heatstroke in August in the Japanese capital. Of those people, 178 passed away indoors.

The Medical Examiner's Office says 95 percent of those who perished indoors were not using air conditioners.

Saturday is the beginning of the Bon summer holidays in Japan, but train and planes are less crowded than usual because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Most people waiting for bullet trains at Tokyo station on Saturday morning were traveling solo or in pairs. There weren't many families to be seen. They were wearing face masks and kept social distances. Station staff were giving out sanitizing wipes.

The Tokyo metropolitan government says next week's memorial ceremony for the victims of US air raids in World War Two has been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

This is the first time the annual ceremony has been canceled since it started in 1991. About 100,000 people were killed in the predawn attack by US B-29 bombers on March 10, 1945.

A Japanese government expert panel has agreed to a plan to reduce the amount of radioactive wastewater stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, by releasing it into the sea or the air.

Water used to cool the molten nuclear fuel from the March 2011 accident is treated to remove most of the radioactive material. But tritium and some other substances are left in the treated water, and the amount stored has reached about 1.2 million tons in almost 1,000 tanks.

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force aerobatic display team has practiced skywriting the Olympic rings to prepare for a ceremony marking the arrival of the Tokyo Games' torch.

The team practiced on Friday, six months before the start of the Olympics.

WASHINGTON — Honda said on Tuesday it will recall 2.7 million older U.S. vehicles in North America for potentially defective air bag inflators. The defect involves a different type of Takata inflator than those that have prompted the largest-ever auto safety recalls worldwide covering more than 42 million U.S. vehicles by 19 automakers with Takata air bag inflators. The new recall covers Honda and Acura automobiles from the 1996 through 2003 model years. Honda said it is aware of one field rupture of an inflator in the new recall campaign — a 2012 crash in Texas that resulted in an injury — and two in junkyards in Japan. The campaign covers 2.4 million U.S. vehicles and 300,000 in Canada, Honda said, adding that it has not determined recall numbers for other countries. Takata issued a new defect notice in November for inflators from four automakers, including Honda. Honda said all three vehicles "potentially were exposed to unusually high amounts of moisture prior to the rupture events." Honda said the recalls cover driver front airbag inflators manufactured with non-azide propellant and said "all inspections and repairs will begin in approximately one year, as replacement parts from alternative suppliers are not yet available." Honda said it "regrets any inconvenience or distress that this situation may cause to our customers as we seek to resolve this situation. Honda believes that the risk of improper airbag deployment in its vehicles remains very low at this time, but we cannot absolutely guarantee the performance of any recalled part."

WASHINGTON — Toyota said on Tuesday it will recall 3.4 million vehicles worldwide because of an electronic defect that can result in air bags not deploying in crashes. The recall, which includes 2.9 million U.S. vehicles, covers 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles and is tied to a report of one fatal crash. The vehicles may have an electronic control unit that does not have adequate protection against electrical noise that can occur in crashes, which could lead to incomplete or non-deployment of the air bags. It could also impede the operation of seat-belt pretensioners. In April, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) expanded a probe into 12.3 million potentially defective air bags covering a number of automakers, including the vehicles Toyota is recalling. NHTSA said in April it had identified two frontal crash events, including one fatal crash "involving Toyota products where (electrical overstress) is suspected as the likely cause" of air bags not deploying. Both involved newer Corolla cars. NHTSA said the air bags under investigation were installed in more than 12 million vehicles from 2010 through 2019 sold by Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi. They were equipped with an air bag control unit initially produced by TRW Automotive Holdings Corp, which is now owned by ZF Friedrichshafen. In total, NHTSA said as many as eight deaths could be tied to the issue. Hyundai, Kia and Fiat Chrysler previously issued recalls for more than 2.5 million vehicles with the TRW air bag control units in question that might not deploy in crashes. When it recalled nearly 2 million vehicles for air bag non-deployments in 2016, Fiat Chrysler said it had reports of three deaths and five injuries that might be related to the defect. Hyundai and Kia ultimately recalled more than 1 million vehicles for air bag non-deployment concerns in 2018. Hyundai and Kia in 2018 said they had reports of four deaths and six injuries in North America tied to the issue. Toyota dealers will install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness if needed. Toyota declined to say how many deaths or injuries have been tied to the defect. Toyota will notify vehicle owners of the recall by mid-March.

A former senior official of the Air Self-Defense Force has been arrested for allegedly leaking confidential data on US early warning aircraft to a Japanese trading house.

58-year-old Sou Kanno is a former colonel and section chief at the ASDF's Air Development and Test Command.