An evacuation drill simulating a ballistic missile launch has been held on Yonaguni Island, Japan's westernmost remote island, for the first time.
Twenty-two residents, including children, took part in the drill jointly organized by the central and prefectural governments and Yonaguni Town in Okinawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have called on the government to step up efforts to get all the victims back as soon as possible.
They made the appeal on Saturday at a government-sponsored symposium in Tokyo that coincided with a week-long campaign to raise awareness about human rights abuses in North Korea.
A memorial ceremony has been held in Tokyo for former leprosy patients who died after years of discrimination.
The Japanese government organizes the annual event that is usually held on June 22.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone on Friday for the first time since Suga took office last week.
Suga spoke to reporters after the talks.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and US President Donald Trump have agreed to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance. The two leaders spoke during their first phone call since Suga took office last week.
Suga talked with Trump for about 20 minutes on Sunday night. After the talks, Suga told reporters that President Trump assured him they would work together to further develop the Japan-US alliance.
A new expert panel of Japan's government has met for the first time to assess the effectiveness of anti-coronavirus measures.
The four-member panel held its first meeting on Wednesday. Among the members are Kyoto University Professor Yamanaka Shinya and Professor Emeritus at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Kurokawa Kiyoshi.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has presided over the first meeting of a government task force based on a coronavirus-response law enacted early this month.
The move comes in response to a rapid rise in the number of new coronavirus infections in Tokyo this week.