The Japanese government's coronavirus advisory panel plans to urge more restraint during the year-end and New Year holidays in areas where infections are surging.

The panel members plan to have a meeting on Friday during which they will make proposals. They will call on people in areas where infections have reached Stage 3, the second-worst level on a 4-tier scale, to move their parties online and to reconsider visiting their hometowns.

Japanese airline companies are working to reduce physical contact during check-in at airports to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

At Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Japan Airlines is testing new machines that can be used without touching the screen.

Japan's health ministry resumed its coronavirus contact-tracing app service on Friday.

The ministry said on Thursday that it fixed a glitch which was found just days after the smartphone application was rolled out on June 19.

Japan's health ministry is trying to repair a glitch in the nation's coronavirus contact-tracing app, which was rolled out just days ago.

The smartphone app is designed to notify users who are thought to have been in close contact with someone infected with the virus.

Japan's government is urging citizens to download a free coronavirus contact-tracing app that became available at app stores on Friday.

A smartphone with the app will record encrypted data sent out by other smartphones within a one-meter radius after 15 minutes of contact.

The Japanese government is launching a smartphone app designed to notify people who have come into close contact with individuals confirmed infected with the coronavirus.

It will release the free software on app distribution platforms on Friday.

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.

The Japanese government plans to make a coronavirus contact-tracing app available by the end of this month.

The app records the data of smartphones that come within a certain distance of each other. People will then be alerted if they have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with the virus.

Japan's government panel of experts has offered 10 tips for reducing face-to-face contact by 80 percent to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

They include avoiding travel back to one's hometown during the upcoming long holidays and using a video chat link instead.

The Japanese government is considering the adoption of a smartphone app that would allow authorities to quickly identify people who may have been exposed to those infected with the new coronavirus.

The app will be similar to the one developed and introduced in Singapore. If users of smartphones loaded with the app come into close proximity, the handsets will receive each other's phone number and record it in an encrypted form.

The Japanese minister in charge of coronavirus measures has called for further efforts to reduce social contact by up to 80 percent to contain the spread of the virus.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said on an NHK program on Sunday that there have been fewer people going out in areas covered by the state of emergency.

A group of experts says Tokyo could prevent an explosive spread of the new coronavirus by reducing person-to-person contact by 80 percent. The group advises authorities to immediately take appropriate measures.

The projection was conducted by a group that includes Professor Nishiura Hiroshi of Hokkaido University, a member of a government taskforce on cluster infections.