The southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has raised its alert over coronavirus infections to the highest of its four levels, and has extended the period of its state of emergency.
Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny made the announcement on Thursday evening after a meeting with his government's officials. They discussed the prefecture's response to the coronavirus infections that show no signs of receding.
An NHK survey shows the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has the nation's highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the preceding seven days. Officials of the southern island prefecture warn the local medical system remains under strain.
The survey put the figure for Okinawa at about 18 as of Saturday, followed by Tokyo at 16, Fukuoka and Osaka prefectures at 14, and Aichi Prefecture at 13.
An aquarium in Okinawa has been temporarily closed after the southern island prefecture declared its own state of emergency amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Officials at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in the town of Motobu say the facility will be closed from Sunday through August 15 to help prevent infections.
People working around a US military base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, have been tested for the coronavirus amid a rising number of cases at the base.
A local medical association and prefectural officials took test samples from about 200 people in Kin Town on Sunday. The people tested are taxi drivers and employees of bars and night clubs frequented by individuals connected to Camp Hansen, which is located in the town.
The governor of the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has asked the country's defense minister to urge US troops stationed there to promptly provide information on coronavirus infections.
A number of US military-affiliated personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus, including those at the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station and Camp Hansen.
The prefectural government of Okinawa, southern Japan, says it has received reports of 61 cases of coronavirus infection that have been confirmed among people connected to the US military.
Thirty-eight were at the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, and 23 at Camp Hansen.
This year marks 75 years since the fierce Battle of Okinawa in the closing stages of World War Two, which claimed more than 200,000 lives. The coronavirus outbreak has given some the survivors no choice but to share their experiences online rather than face-to-face.
The event was organized by the Japan Veterans Video Archive Project that records the testimonies of survivors.
People in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa are looking back at one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of World War Two. Seventy-five years ago today, Japan's military operations against US forces on the islands came to an end.
An annual memorial service was held at the Peace Memorial Park in the city of Itoman on Tuesday. This is where the last major confrontation in the Battle of Okinawa took place.
People in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa are observing 75 years since the end of one of the fiercest ground battles in the closing stages of World War Two.
Since early morning, people have been coming out to pray for those who died in the Battle of Okinawa.
A growing number of students in Okinawa says they have no one around them to tell them what really happened in the southwestern Japanese prefecture during World War Two.
More than 1,600 students in their second year of high school in Okinawa responded to a once-in-five-year survey done by a local research group.
People in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Okinawa are observing 75 years since the end of fierce ground battles in the closing days of World War Two.
More than 200,000 people lost their lives in the fight, including a quarter of the residents of Okinawa.
Japan's defense ministry has resumed landfill work to build a US military base in the southern prefecture of Okinawa, after a two-month suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The landfill is part of a plan to move the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from Ginowan City to the less-populated Henoko district of Nago City.
Japan's central government looks set to continue implementing its plan to relocate a US base within the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa.
Sunday's Okinawa prefectural assembly election gave a small majority to parties supporting Governor Tamaki Denny.
Japan's Defense Ministry filed an application with Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday to alter a construction plan for the relocation of a US base within the prefecture. The revised plan would include work to strengthen the soft foundation of reclaimed land. The prefecture is expected to reject the request.
The central government wants to move the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City to the less-populated Henoko district in Nago City.