Unusually heavy snowfall for this time of the year is wreaking havoc across many parts of Japan. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has instructed his cabinet ministers to provide support for local governments affected.
Suga held a meeting with relevant Cabinet ministers on Thursday, as the heavy snow is forecast to continue this week.
The northern Japanese city of Asahikawa has requested Hokkaido's prefectural government to ask the Self-Defense Forces to send nurses to deal with a series of coronavirus cluster infections.
City officials on Monday asked the Hokkaido government to recognize the situation as a disaster and convey the request for nurses to the SDF.
Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi says he has asked Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo to send nurses from the Self-Defense Forces to treat serious coronavirus cases at a newly established medical facility.
Yoshimura visited the new center for treating COVID-19 patients in serious condition on Monday.
Officials of Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, are urging residents to refrain from making nonessential outings to help curb a spike in serious coronavirus cases.
The prefecture has raised its own coronavirus alert to its highest level and is asking residents not to go out unless necessary from Friday until December 15.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has asked foreign diplomats to help disseminate information on the coronavirus to foreign residents in Tokyo.
The metropolitan government says that Tokyo has a population of about 540,000 foreign nationals. It says coronavirus infections among foreign nationals have been reported.
The mayor of Tokyo's Shibuya Ward has asked people to refrain from coming to the district to celebrate Halloween this year, to prevent spreading of the coronavirus.
Hasebe Ken made the rare call at a news conference on Thursday ahead of Halloween next Saturday.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has called on the central government to help ensure that the capital can provide sufficient medical care for coronavirus patients.
Koike on Friday held talks separately with the minister in charge of the coronavirus response, Nishimura Yasutoshi, and with health minister Kato Katsunobu.
Officials in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, have decided to request bars that have not taken sufficient preventive measures against the coronavirus to close.
Fifty-three people were found to have been infected at four host and hostess bars in the prefecture.
Japan has asked the United States to extradite two Americans who are under arrest for allegedly helping former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn to flee Japan while on bail.
US authorities arrested Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, in May for their alleged role in Ghosn's escape to Lebanon on a private jet.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has called on people to refrain from visiting nightlife districts where coronavirus infections are on the rise.
Koike called for increased vigilance against the virus in a hastily held news conference on Thursday after the capital reported that 107 people were confirmed positive on the day. It is the first time that the number of infections has topped 100 since May 2, when 154 cases were reported under a state of emergency.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha says she has asked UNESCO to consider removing a group of Japanese industrial sites from its World Heritage list.
Kang told reporters on Tuesday that she sent a letter to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay the previous day.
It has been disclosed that 38 people in Tokyo confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus whose infection routes remain unclear may have contracted the virus at night spots.
At a news conference on Monday, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko urged people not to spend time in bars and other spots operating during the nighttime hours. Koike said that such entertainment establishments are high risk, because they are closed spaces with poor ventilation.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has asked small and medium-sized companies and retailers to maintain employment and pledged government support for their efforts.
Abe attended the third day of intensive hearings at the prime minister's office on Saturday to hear opinions from industry officials on the possibility of an additional economic package amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Japan's welfare ministry has asked local authorities to keep childcare facilities open while schools nationwide are closed amid the spread of the new coronavirus.
The request came on Thursday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan earlier in the day to effectively ask all elementary, junior high, and senior high schools as well as special-needs schools across the country to start their spring holidays on Monday. The holiday period usually ends in early April.