Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has called on the Group of 20 major economies to push for the availability of coronavirus vaccines and treatments for people around the world.
Suga spoke at an online G20 summit chaired by Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were among the leaders who took part on Saturday, at the start of the two-day summit.
NHK has learned that Japan's Foreign Ministry is considering lowering the travel alert that has been issued for the entire world due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ministry raised the alert to Level 2, the third-highest on a scale of 1 to 4, in March for the whole world and asked people to avoid nonessential travels.
Japan is easing entry restrictions on Thursday for foreigners from around the world, excluding tourists.
The Japanese government had denied entry of people from 159 countries and regions in principle due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has already resumed businesspeople's travel to and from Vietnam, Taiwan and some other places where infection is under control.
The government of Japan may ease restrictions on entry into the country by people from around the world next month.
At present, people from 159 countries and territories are denied entry in principle. But the government is holding talks to ease restrictions with more than a dozen nations and territories where the infection is under control. The government has already resumed travel for businesspeople from Vietnam, Taiwan and elsewhere.
Japanese figure skater Hanyu Yuzuru has won the award for Most Valuable Skater from the International Skating Union, or ISU.
The international skating body made the announcement during an online ceremony on Saturday. It also announced the winners for the last season in six other categories of the newly-established ISU Skating Awards.
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has put together its draft proposals on a stimulus package to cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It calls for measures of a larger scale than those taken during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The draft includes a proposal of 20 trillion yen, or about 186 billion dollars, in fiscal spending and 60 trillion yen, or about 560 billion dollars, for businesses.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has stressed the need to closely work with other countries to address the impact of the new coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.
After a BOJ policymakers' meeting on Monday, Kuroda told reporters that they convened two days earlier than scheduled because of the need for swift measures that smoothen business operations and stabilize financial markets.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan will step up cooperation with the international community to fight the coronavirus, now that the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic.
Abe told reporters on Thursday morning the declaration is a response to the ongoing spread of the virus around the world.