The Japanese government is speeding up measures to strengthen infrastructure against floods and other natural disasters.

Cabinet ministers approved the five-year program on Friday with a price tag of 15-trillion-yen, or about 144-billion-dollars. It's expected to begin in the next fiscal year.

NHK has learned that the Japanese government plans to create a fund aimed at boosting the international competitiveness of the nation's universities.

The money will be for nurturing young researchers and improving facilities.

NHK has learned that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is planning a six-fold increase in coronavirus testing capacity, in anticipation of a simultaneous outbreak of seasonal influenza.

Tokyo currently has a testing capacity of 10,200 per day. However, experts have warned that the capital should prepare for another wave of coronavirus infections.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and President Joko Widodo have called for continued cooperation on matters including health, security and the economy.

After the summit meeting, the leaders held a news conference.

Japan's health minister has vowed to double the daily capacity of coronavirus antigen tests at airports to 20,000 as Japan eases entry restrictions for foreigners from around the world.

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Tamura Norihisa visited the quarantine station at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday. He inspected how saliva-based antigen tests were conducted for entrants to Japan.

PSA is willing to increase production capacity for Toyota in a bid to address European Union antitrust concerns about its planned merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

BRUSSELS/MILAN — Peugeot maker PSA has offered to boost Japanese rival Toyota to try to address EU antitrust concerns about its plan to create the world's fourth-biggest carmaker, to be called Stellantis, by merging with Fiat Chrysler, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

PSA has offered to increase the production capacity for Toyota in their van joint venture, one of the sources said. Another source said the French company would sell the vans at close to cost.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and US President Donald Trump have agreed to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance.

Suga talked with Trump by telephone for about 25 minutes on Sunday night in their first phone call since Suga took office on September 16.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has said the government will step up efforts to secure face mask supplies in case of a further spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Suga told reporters on Wednesday that about one billion face masks were available in Japan in August, and roughly half were produced domestically.

NHK has learned that the Tokyo Medical Association is considering increasing the number of coronavirus testing sites in the Japanese capital to 1,400 from the current 300 or so.

The association has so far set up around 300 PCR testing sites in Tokyo. These include sites at medical institutions, as well as PCR test centers that are jointly operated by local medical associations and municipalities.

The Japanese government is pushing ahead with plans to get the economy back on track even as the outbreak continues to spread.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said, "I think it's necessary to strike a balance of social and economic activities while taking effective measures to prevent infection."

Bored at home during the pandemic lockdown? If you are, you’re not alone, and it seems that Sony knows this too because according to separate reports from Bloomberg and Nikkei, it seems that Sony will be boosting the production of its PS5 by a huge margin in order to meet anticipated demand for their next-gen console.

The PS5 is expected to be released this year and instead of producing 5-6 million units, which is what some analysts have predicted, the reports are claiming that Sony might produce several million more where it could result in an initial production reaching as many as 9 to 10 million units of the PS5 console.

Japan's government is to expand an extra budget by more than 80 billion dollars to fund cash handouts to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus.

The government will now submit the supplementary budget worth more than 230 billion dollars for the fiscal year that began on April 1 to fund an emergency economic package worth about 1.1 trillion dollars.

NHK has learned that a company in western Japan is planning to increase production of protective face shields and other equipment for medical workers in the fight against the new coronavirus.

Yamamoto Kogaku, based in Higashi-Osaka City, made the decision to at the request of the government. The firm is a major supplier of protective eyewear for industrial use.