The Japanese government decided at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to list infections caused by the new coronavirus as a designated infectious disease.

Japan's Defense Ministry plans to submit a bill to the current session of the Diet to establish a space unit.

The ministry is considering creating the new unit and increasing the number of personnel starting this April to beef up its defense capabilities in the realms of outer space and cyberspace.

Japan is scrambling to make arrangements for citizens seeking to get out of Wuhan, a Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

Officials want workers to notify the government of their plans to stay or go.

NHK has learned that Japan's foreign ministry is making arrangements with the Chinese government to evacuate Japanese nationals from the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly virus outbreak.

The ministry on Friday raised the infectious disease warning for Hubei Province to the second-highest level of three, and is urging Japanese citizens not to travel there.

Japan's Finance Ministry has indicated new government bond issues in fiscal 2021 may increase for the first time in 11 years. The announcement comes amid rising social security costs such as medical care and pensions.

The ministry has worked out an estimate which indicates that if the economy continues to grow by 1.5 percent in nominal terms, social security costs in fiscal 2023 will increase to 38.5 trillion yen, or about 352 billion dollars. That is up 2.6 trillion yen, or nearly 24 billion dollars, from the budget plan for fiscal 2020.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has suggested that next year will be the last time the government hosts an annual memorial ceremony for the 2011 disaster.

The government decided at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to hold a ceremony in Tokyo on March 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of the massive quake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan, triggering a nuclear accident in Fukushima.

The Japanese government has decided to postpone a decision on the basic policy for the development of integrated resorts including casinos following a bribery scandal.

The government drafted a basic policy, which includes criteria for selecting areas where the resorts will be built, in September. It was planning to officially approve the policy by the end of January.

A Japanese government survey shows about 80 percent of respondents support maintaining the death penalty.

The Cabinet Office conducted the survey on the country's use of capital punishment in November 2019, covering 3,000 people aged 18 or older. 1,572 people responded.

Japan's government says it will not be able to achieve its goal of a primary-balance surplus by fiscal 2025 even if economic growth manages to stay above the current level.

The Cabinet Office projects a budget deficit of 3.6 trillion yen, or about 32.7 billion dollars, by the target year.