People in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido are remembering the victims of a powerful earthquake that struck exactly two years ago. The quake left 44 people dead and 785 injured.

The town of Atsuma was hardest hit, with 37 deaths. Many of those who died were engulfed in massive mudslides triggered by the jolt.

A luxury sightseeing train has begun its first tour of Hokkaido, northern Japan.

The Royal Express, jointly operated by Hokkaido Railway Company and Tokyu Corporation, is making three tours of the island in August and September.

The season's first Pacific saury catch has arrived at a port in Hokkaido, northern Japan. But the volume was only about 1 percent of that for same time last year.

Four of 12 boats that set sail from the port in the town of Akkeshi on August 15 returned with the catch on Sunday. The remaining eight did not catch anything.

The governor of Hokkaido and the mayor of Sapporo have issued a joint emergency declaration as coronavirus infections have started to increase again.

Governor Suzuki Naomichi told Mayor Akimoto Katsuhiro in Sapporo City on Sunday that newly confirmed cases in the northern prefecture have hit double digits for five days in a row. Suzuki said Hokkaido may be experiencing a second wave of infections.

Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido is to lift a state of emergency declared last month in response to the new coronavirus outbreak there.

Governor Naomichi Suzuki told reporters on Wednesday that the three-week emergency period will expire on the following day as planned. He announced the declaration on February 28.

Japanese meteorologists are calling on people in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido to be vigilant as a severe winter storm hits the region.

They are warning of heavy snow, possible white-outs, travel disruptions and high waves, as a rapidly developing low-pressure system is approaching.

Japanese weather officials are forecasting blizzards for the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido from Thursday to Friday.

Japan Meteorological Agency officials say a rapidly developing low-pressure system is expected to reach off Hokkaido, and another is approaching northeastern Japan on Thursday.

The governor of the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido has declared a three-week emergency period in response to an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the region.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Naomichi Suzuki said the situation is getting more serious.

The governor of Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has declared the spread of the virus in his prefecture an emergency, calling on residents to stay home this weekend and only go out if necessary.

Naomichi Suzuki said, " I believe that, if nothing is done, the coronavirus infection would spread rapidly. In order to bring an end to this issue as soon as possible, and to protect the lives and health of the residents and minimize the impact on the livelihood, I believe that this is the crucial moment. We must take unprecedented measures in order to curb the situation."

The governor of Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has declared a state of emergency in response to the high number of people infected with the new coronavirus there.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Naomichi Suzuki also called on local residents to refrain from going out this weekend.

A man in his 80s who was infected with the new coronavirus died on Thursday in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Fifteen new cases of infection were reported there on the day.

Hokkaido's governor said the man who died had pre-existing conditions.

Rising concerns over the spread of the coronavirus are forcing hundreds of schools in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido to close for about a week.

The closure applies to more than 1,600 public elementary, junior high and special needs schools. The majority cancelled classes from Thursday.

Officials in the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido say three more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the region.

The three include two male elementary school students in Nakafurano Town. The other is a woman in her 40s. She lives in Chitose City. The woman was working as a quarantine officer at New Chitose Airport.

A railway operator on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido has started a service offering tourists views of ice floes that wash up on the shores of Okhotsk.

The first train of the season departed from Abashiri Station on the JR Senmo Line after a ceremony on Saturday. About 100 people were on board.