Japanese authorities and experts are preparing for the next steps in the fight against the coronavirus after a crucial three-week period draws to a close.
Daily new cases continue to surge, leading the government's panel of experts to issue advice.
Japanese government's panel of coronavirus experts have issued advice on a number of measures to address a surge in infections.
The recent spikes are bringing some local healthcare systems to the brink.
The Japanese government's coronavirus advisory panel plans to urge more restraint during the year-end and New Year holidays in areas where infections are surging.
The panel members plan to have a meeting on Friday during which they will make proposals. They will call on people in areas where infections have reached Stage 3, the second-worst level on a 4-tier scale, to move their parties online and to reconsider visiting their hometowns.
NHK has learned that Japan's government is preparing to send nurses from the Self-Defense Forces to a hospital in Hokkaido to help it tackle surging coronavirus infections.
The city of Asahikawa in the northern prefecture has seen infection clusters spreading at two hospitals.
NHK has learned that the Japanese government plans to create a fund aimed at boosting the international competitiveness of the nation's universities.
The money will be for nurturing young researchers and improving facilities.
Japan's health ministry will likely recommend that prefectural governments set criteria for hospitalizing coronavirus patients as part of efforts to ease the increasing burden on medical institutions.
As an example, the ministry referred to a system to be adopted by the Kanagawa prefectural government later this month. The prefecture had 13,125 confirmed cases as of Thursday, the third largest in the country following Tokyo and Osaka.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko says the central government has agreed to ask seniors and people with underlying health issues to refrain from using its tourism campaign when traveling to and from the capital.
Koike on Tuesday met with Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, and later spoke to reporters at the metropolitan government building.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and the president of the Japan Medical Association met Tuesday to discuss measures that can be taken in anticipation of a spike in seriously ill coronavirus patients.
Nakagawa Toshio, the association's head, told Suga that medical care systems are under a lot of pressure because the virus is continuing to spread. He added that the number of seriously ill patients requiring ventilators and special care is expected to grow.
Japan is coming out of the first weekend in a three-week period the central government has deemed crucial for curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Several prefectural governments, including Tokyo and Osaka, have requested bars and restaurants serving alcohol to limit their hours.
The Japanese government plans to subsidize operators of public transportation systems to help them introduce new anti-virus measures and cashless payment systems.
Operators of buses, railways and taxis are struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the financial difficulties, some of them are keeping their timetables unchanged so as not to inconvenience local residents as well as medical workers.
NHK has learned the details of a new Japanese government export plan that covers farm, forestry, and fishery products, as well as alcohol. The government wants to increase the value of annual shipments to 5 trillion yen or about 48 billion dollars by 2030.
The draft document focuses on 27 items, including beef, rice, apples, yellowtail fish and Japanese sake. It sets a mid-term export target of about 19 billion dollars in annual value by 2025.
The Japanese government plans to step up measures toward the end of the year to fight coronavirus infections.
The government advisory panel on its coronavirus response on Wednesday called for stronger action for a short period of around three weeks. The panel said the government should ask people to refrain from moving to or from areas where the virus is spreading rapidly, if necessary preventive steps are not taken.
Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus response Nishimura Yasutoshi says the government is excluding some areas from its travel subsidy program to reduce the impact on local medical sectors.
Nishimura held a teleconference with Tokushima Governor Iizumi Kamon, who chairs the National Governors' Association, on Tuesday.
The Japanese government will suspend travel subsidies for new bookings to the cities of Sapporo and Osaka, where coronavirus cases are increasing.
The government has been planning to exclude regions with a spike in cases from its "Go To Travel" campaign.