A former Japanese abductee who returned from North Korea 20 years ago has called on Japan's government to take action to immediately bring back other people who were abducted.

Chimura Yasushi made the urgent appeal at a rally in the city of Fukui, central Japan, on Sunday.

Japanese government officials have agreed on a plan to set total defense spending for the next five fiscal years at 40 to 43 trillion yen, or around 300 billion dollars.

They discussed the appropriate amount after Prime Minister Kishida Fumio instructed ministers to raise the annual defense and other related budgets to 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product in fiscal 2027.

Japan's government has put forward a bill to help the financial victims of religious corporations.

That includes the religious group, formally known as the Unification Church, which has been in the spotlight since the man who shot former prime minister Abe Shinzo cited its exploitation of his family as his motivation.

Japan's education ministry has notified prefectural officials that children will be allowed to chat during school lunches now that the government's anti-coronavirus rules have changed.

The government's basic measures to deal with the coronavirus urged people to eat or drink only in small groups, and to refrain from speaking with each other. But this passage was deleted last Friday in a revision.

The Japanese government on Monday decided a plan to sharply increase investment in innovative start-ups at a meeting of the Council of New Form of Capitalism Realization.

The goal of the council is to realize what Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has called "a new form of capitalism."

Defense officials in Japan say the country should possess the ability to launch counterstrikes.

They presented the view on Friday at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito.

Japan's tourism minister revealed on Friday that the government will continue with its nationwide travel discount campaign next year.

The campaign started in October to help the tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

A Japanese government panel on the coronavirus has discussed anti-infection measures for the upcoming holiday season, and a new variant of the virus found to be spreading in Britain.

Members of the government subcommittee met on Wednesday amid a spike in cases across the country.

Japanese health ministry officials have come up with a draft vaccination plan that specifically defines which pre-existing conditions should be given priority in the country's coronavirus vaccination program. They plan to include people suffering from chronic heart diseases and cancer.

The ministry plans to start inoculating medical workers around late February, followed by the elderly in late March.

The Japanese government has approved a record draft budget worth more than 106 trillion yen, or about 1 trillion dollars, for the next fiscal year.

The plan was approved at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The Japanese government plans to speed up preparations for coronavirus vaccinations in the country.

Vaccines developed by different pharmaceutical companies require different storage temperatures. The government is planning to secure special freezers for each vaccine, as well as dry ice to preserve them. As equipment and materials necessary for storage are expected to be in short supply in the summer, the government will call on manufacturers to boost production.

Japan's government finalized plans for social security reforms on Monday. Officials hope the changes will make the system more balanced and beneficial across age groups.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said, "Japan's population is aging rapidly with fewer children. We have a responsibility to pass on a social security system that limits the burden on working people and offers all generations peace of mind."

Japan's prime minister says the government will entirely suspend its domestic travel subsidy campaign late this month as the number of new coronavirus infections remains at record high levels.

Japan's minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the government will take all possible measures in areas where infections are surging.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said on an NHK program on Sunday that the government is responding with a strong sense of urgency as the country's daily new cases continue to hit record levels.