Sources say former Justice Minister Kawai Katsuyuki was found to have given money to local politicians in Hiroshima on multiple occasions to secure votes for his wife Kawai Anri, who won a seat in last July's Upper House election.

Both were formerly with the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party. They are suspected of giving a total of 25 million 700,000 yen or about 240,000 dollars to 94 local politicians and executives of their supporters' groups.

Tokyo's local governments near the US Yokota Air Base are requesting that the US military's Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft be grounded until safety measures are taken.

Japan's Defense Ministry officials on Wednesday informed the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and local municipalities near the US base that part of an Osprey went missing after a flight on Tuesday.

Health authorities in Japan's northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido, have reported dozens of coronavirus infections at cafes where people perform karaoke.

They say 41 customers and staff were infected at 18 cafes in the prefectural capital, Sapporo, and its surrounding areas.

Officials in Nagasaki, western Japan, have confirmed 43 more coronavirus infections among the crew of a cruise ship docked at a port in the prefecture. The total number of cases on the vessel has reached 91.

Tests are being carried out on all 623 crew members of the Italian-registered Costa Atlantica. The ship was sent to a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard for repairs.

Rare color footage of the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics has been discovered at the home of a former hospital worker.

The video runs 26 minutes and 40 seconds and begins with the athletes' parade. This is followed by footage of wheelchair basketball and swimming and athletes competing in events we no longer see today.

Japan's health ministry says 99 more people on board the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The ministry said on Monday that of the newly found virus carriers, 85 are passengers and 14 are crewmembers.

A hospital in Sagamihara City near Tokyo says one member of staff is confirmed to have the new coronavirus.

The hospital said on its website that the worker had been treating a resident of Kanagawa Prefecture who died last week.

Japan's health ministry says an elderly woman who died on Thursday was later confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus.

The woman in her 80s, living in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, visited a hospital on January 22 as she was suffering from fatigue. Her health conditions had been monitored until she was diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to the hospital on February 1.

Authorities in Japan say 39 new cases of coronavirus have been identified on the cruise ship at Yokohama Port.

A total of 174 cases have now been found on the Diamond Princess. A Japanese health ministry official who was conducting an inspection of the ship is infected with the virus.

Sixty-six more people on board a quarantined cruise ship at Yokohama Port have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus. That brings the total number of cases on the vessel to 136.

People with confirmed infections will be hospitalized, as were cases discovered earlier.

A group of Japanese researchers have discovered a new species of marine worm in the bay where Tokyo Olympic triathlon events are scheduled.

Researchers from the National Institute of Polar Research and Toho University said they discovered what they believe to be a new scavenger species of Ophryotrocha worm.

Japan's health ministry says six more people on a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number to 70.

Ministry officials told reporters on Sunday that their latest tests on the Diamond Princess covered 57 people, and found that one passenger and five crewmembers have contracted the virus.

Japan's health minister Katsunobu Kato has announced that two more people have been confirmed infected with the new coronavirus in Japan.

Kato said on Tuesday that one of them has no record of staying in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. The person is the first to be confirmed infected despite having no record of staying in Wuhan.

Japanese police have discovered a new computer program that helps hackers get unauthorized access to online services more efficiently.

The discovery comes after police arrested last May a Chinese national on suspicion of operating an unregistered server to make illicit money transfers overseas.