Japan's Environment Ministry has decided to establish an expert panel early next year to discuss how to deal with possibly toxic compounds detected near US military bases in the country.

The panel, made up of experts in public health and other fields, is expected to decide domestic targets to keep concentrations of the organofluorine compounds PFOS and PFOA at low levels. The experts will also consider ways to monitor water quality.

An expert panel advising Japan's health ministry says the spread of the coronavirus continues nationwide.

The panel said on Tuesday that the northern island of Hokkaido has seen a clear reduction in new cases, but that is not the case anywhere else in the country.

NHK has learned that according to a study, a major river that runs through Tokyo and neighboring Saitama Prefecture could have breached its banks if Typhoon Hagibis had brought more rain last year.

Tokyo University of Science Professor Nihei Yasuo conducted a flood simulation on the Arakawa River using 21 forecasts the Meteorological Agency issued 10 hours before the typhoon made landfall in October last year.

A third-party panel of experts has compiled a report on the Japanese government's initial response to the pandemic. They say some of the measures were too little and too late.

One of the focal points of the report was the government's border control response.

A US foreign policy expert says Japan's new prime minister should put relations with South Korea and the United States among his priorities. Suga Yoshihide was chosen this week to head the main governing Liberal Democratic Party, making him likely to become prime minister.

Michael Green, a former White House official for Asia who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, spoke to NHK last week.

An epidemiology expert is urging residents in the path of a typhoon to evacuate without hesitation regardless of the threat of the coronavirus.

Kaku Mitsuo of Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University says some people may feel wary of going to crowded shelters due to the risk of infection.

A prominent infectious disease expert in Japan is warning that the country is in the midst of second wave of the coronavirus outbreak. The alarm comes as the number of seriously ill patients has been rising.

The western prefecture of Osaka reported 187 new cases on Wednesday ... the most among the country's 47 prefectures. There were 65 seriously ill patients as of Tuesday ... more than double the figure for Tokyo.

Japan is to send experts from its international emergency relief team to Mauritius on Monday at the request of the island nation's government.

A large amount of fuel has been spilling from a bulk carrier, the Wakashio, which ran aground on July 25. The ship was chartered by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.

Japan's minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the government will seek expert advice on whether to further ease the restrictions on public events.

Nishimura Yasutoshi took up the issue during a video conference with the leaders of three major business organizations.

Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus response says a government panel of experts has approved a domestic tourism campaign that excludes travel plans to and from Tokyo.

Nishimura Yasutoshi made the announcement on the "Go To Travel" drive after a subcommittee meeting on Thursday.

An expert says almost the same amount of water vapor may have flowed into a rain front when record rainfall hit Kyushu earlier this month as when a rain disaster devastated western Japan in 2018.

Professor Tsuboki Kazuhisa of Nagoya University estimated how much vapor flowed into the stationary rain front using data from the Meteorological Agency.

A government panel of experts in Japan says social restrictions should vary by region depending on the scale of local coronavirus infections.

A nationwide state of emergency is set to expire on May 6. The government is planning to extend it for about one month, and is seeking experts' views.

Japanese Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi says experts want social restrictions to stay in place to prevent a new surge in coronavirus infections. Nishimura is the minister in charge of the government's response to the pandemic.

Nishimura spoke to reporters on Friday after a meeting of a panel of experts to assess the state of the outbreak.

A Japanese government panel of experts has called for continuing thorough efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The experts held a meeting on Wednesday, two weeks after the government declared a state of emergency. Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi and health minister Kato Katsunobu attended the meeting. Nishimura is in charge of anti-coronavirus measures.