Japan's tourism minister has announced that the government will allocate additional funds to its tourism campaign, aimed at boosting the pandemic-hit economy.
The move comes after some travel websites became unable to give a promised level of discounts.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu says the government will continue to work towards relocating the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa.
Kato, who is also the Minister in charge of Mitigating the Impact of US Forces in Okinawa, visited the prefecture for the first time since he assumed office on Saturday.
Japan's labor and welfare ministry has started studying ways to encourage more men to take paternity leave.
A ministry survey last year showed that 7.48 percent of eligible men took paternity leave compared to 83 percent of women.
Analysis of a large amount of data indicates that the number of travelers from Tokyo to other prefectures over the weekend rose 7 percent nationwide from the figure for a week earlier.
This was the first weekend since trips to and from Tokyo were added to the government's "Go To" campaign to encourage tourism.
The Science Council of Japan plans to ask the government to explain why it refused to appoint six people as new members of the leading academic body, and renew its request for their appointment.
The council on Friday decided to make the request after Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide did not appoint six of the 105 nominees, who would have joined the council from Thursday if they were approved.
The Japanese government has drafted interim guidelines on coronavirus vaccines. The draft shows that medical professionals and elderly citizens will be among the first to be treated.
It says medical workers are at higher risk of infection and that elderly people are more likely to develop serious symptoms.
Japan's health ministry will study possible glitches in its coronavirus contact tracing app, as an increasing number of users have been complaining about it.
The ministry says the app, known as COCOA, had been downloaded more than 17 million times as of Thursday since its launch in June.
Japan's government is set to add Tokyo to the "Go To Travel" domestic tourism campaign on October 1. The travel discount program is aimed at boosting consumer spending.
Trips to and from Tokyo were excluded from the campaign at its launch in July due to an increase in coronavirus cases in the capital at the time.
The Japanese transport minister has revealed a plan to add Tokyo to a domestic travel campaign, "Go To Travel," on October 1.
Akaba Kazuyoshi said the plan is a result of talks with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide and Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, who is also the minister in charge of the coronavirus response.
A Japanese government panel has discussed measures to prevent coronavirus infections for the "Go To Eat" campaign, designed to help the restaurant industry hit hard by the outbreak.
The experts met in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide says the government will continue to do its best to contain the coronavirus and protect people's lives and health.
Suga said the government has been dealing with the challenge of containing the outbreak since January. He said it will continue to work hard to prevent the explosive increase in infections that has been seen in the US and some European countries.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has called on the central government to help ensure that the capital can provide sufficient medical care for coronavirus patients.
Koike on Friday held talks separately with the minister in charge of the coronavirus response, Nishimura Yasutoshi, and with health minister Kato Katsunobu.
Japan's government says it will not ask people to refrain from visiting their hometowns during the mid-summer "bon" holidays altogether, but will call on them to take anti-coronavirus measures to protect the elderly.
The minister in charge of the coronavirus response, Nishimura Yasutoshi, said at a news conference on Wednesday that people will have increased chances of meeting the elderly as well as eating and drinking with them during their hometown visits. He called on people to avoid dining in large groups and to take other anti-infection measures during the holidays.
Japan's minister in charge of the coronavirus response says he hopes the government will come up with some results on how to curb infections by the end of this month, using artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Nishimura Yasutoshi on Wednesday addressed the government's expert panel, which includes Professor Emeritus at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Kurokawa Kiyoshi and Kyoto University Professor Yamanaka Shinya.