The Japanese government has extended the Self-Defense Force's mission in the Middle East by one year, citing continued tension in the region.

The SDF's destroyer and patrol aircraft have been deployed in the region for an intelligence-gathering mission to ensure safe navigation for vessels related to Japan.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Kajiyama Hiroshi says the government will work to put the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP into effect promptly.

Kajiyama spoke to reporters after an online summit and signing ceremony he attended with Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide.

Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo says protection of foreign military assets by Japan's Self-Defense Forces should be viewed differently from the use of force.

Kishi and Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds agreed on Monday that Australian naval vessels will be included among foreign military assets the Self-Defense Forces are able to protect under Japan's new security legislation enacted in 2015.

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force says 28 of its personnel have contracted the coronavirus, probably at a barbecue party.

Officials of the GSDF say that the 28 members from 24 camps across Japan had been confirmed infected by Monday.

The Bank of Japan has launched a task force to study issuing a digital currency, as such money becomes increasingly popular around the world.

The move comes after government economic guidelines called on the BOJ to examine the feasibility of a digital currency that can be exchanged through smartphones.

Japan will veto Lebanon's $10 billion bailout request if decision-makers in the Middle Eastern nation don't deport former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, according to lawyers. He famously fled Japan, where he was under house arrest, and landed in Lebanon, where he was raised, by boarding a private jet in a box in 2019.

Ghosn's cunning plan — which he orchestrated with the help of a former Green Beret arrested in 2020 — was worthy of a James Bond movie, but it didn't take Lebanon's financial difficulties into account. Inflation is rising, unemployment is growing, food is becoming increasingly expensive and the country's public debt hovers in the vicinity of $90 billion. Banks are also running out of dollars, which the business sector pressingly needs to pay for imported goods. Government officials began negotiating the terms of a $10 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May 2020, and Ghosn may unexpectedly find himself in the middle of the talks.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government set up a coronavirus task force on Friday following a spike in the number of confirmed cases in the Japanese capital.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has warned that the city faces the risk of an explosive growth in infections. She has asked Tokyo residents to avoid going out this weekend.

Japan's government has launched a new task force to fight a growing coronavirus outbreak. The move paves the way for the Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency based on a newly enacted law.

Shinzo Abe said, "In order to overcome the challenge our country is now facing, the state, local governments, medical workers, business operators and all residents need to be united and push ahead with measures to tackle the illness caused by the new coronavirus. I want the minister in charge of the special law, the health minister, and other relevant ministers to swiftly come up with basic guidelines."

The Japanese government launched a coronavirus task force based on new legislation on Thursday. A panel of experts will meet so the task force can draw up a basic policy to deal with the outbreak.

A similar policy was compiled under former legislation when a new strain of influenza spread around the world in 2009.

The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has launched a task force to sort out issues arising from the postponement of the games.

The move comes after the International Olympic Committee decided on Tuesday to put off the games until the summer of 2021 at the latest due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japanese government has launched a new task force to fight a growing coronavirus outbreak.

The move paves the way for the Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency based on a newly enacted law.

The Japanese government will set up a coronavirus task force based on new legislation to deal with the outbreak.

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday. The Japanese Cabinet has decided to set up the task force later in the day.

Japan's ban on the price-gouging resale of face masks came into force on Sunday. Tokyo took the measure as masks have been in short supply amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Violators will face penalties of up to one year in prison or a fine as high as about 9,500 dollars.

On February 18 this year, as picked up by The Truth About Cars, Toyota submitted an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to secure the term "i-Force Max." The paperwork requests the mark for "automobiles and structural parts thereof." It's thought the moniker will be applied to the rumored new engine headed for the next-generation Tundra pickup, expected next year, perhaps for the 2022 model year. The i-Force name is as old as the Tundra, appearing in 2000 on the first-gen model powered by the 4.7-liter V8 that produced 245 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. When Toyota overhauled the truck in 2007, the i-Force name migrated to the new 5.7-liter DOHC V8 that made 381 hp and 401 lb-ft. At the time, that was more than could be had with any V8 from the Big Three competition, the Chevrolet Silverado's 6.0-liter Vortec Max V8 topping the challengers with 367 hp and 375 lb-ft. The Tundra hasn't moved on since then, its i-Force V8 making the same 381 hp and 401 lb-ft. in 2020.     

Years of rumors have pointed to the third-generation Tundra getting a top-trim 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid built off the same motor used in various Lexus models. Predicted output is 450 hp and 500 lb-ft., worthy numbers for the i-Force Max name if that's what ends up happening. That would put the Toyota right behind the high-output version of Ford's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 that makes 450 hp and 510 lb-ft., if the Tundra came out right now. We'll need to see what Ford reveals with the 14th-generation F-150 later this year, and how the domestic competition responds before the Tundra hits the market. Full-size truck buyers don't generally concern themselves with gas mileage, but the Tundra should destroy all comers if rumors of 30 miles per gallon on the highway prove true. And with a purported new chassis under the 2020 Tundra dubbed "F1," it's likely the payload and tow ratings will receive a generous increase from the current 1,660 and 10,100 pounds, respectively, in SR5 trim.