The coronavirus pandemic is increasingly making uncertain the future of Japan's project to set up integrated resorts that include casinos.

The government had planned to open the facilities sometime in the mid-2020s.

NHK has learned that the Tokyo Medical Association is considering increasing the number of coronavirus testing sites in the Japanese capital to 1,400 from the current 300 or so.

The association has so far set up around 300 PCR testing sites in Tokyo. These include sites at medical institutions, as well as PCR test centers that are jointly operated by local medical associations and municipalities.

Japan's Defense Minister Kono Taro says the government will withdraw a multi-billion-dollar plan to deploy the land-based missile defense system, known as Aegis Ashore.

Kono said, "The National Security Council discussed the matter and decided to give up on the plan to deploy Aegis Ashore in two prefectures, Akita and Yamaguchi."

Japanese Defense Minister Kono Taro says the government has abandoned its plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system in Yamaguchi and Akita prefectures.

Kono announced on Monday last week that the deployment plan had been suspended. He explained the background to the decision at a meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday that was attended by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and some Cabinet members.

The Japanese government has held the National Security Council after its defense ministry decided to halt a plan deploying a land-based missile defense system called Aegis Ashore.

Defense Minister Kono Taro announced the decision last week, citing the need to modify the missile so that its booster falls safely. To avoid a vacuum in the country's defense, the government plans to use existing Aegis-equipped ships and ground-based PAC3 interceptor systems.

Japan's government plans to hold a National Security Council meeting this week and withdraw the plan to deploy a land-based missile defense system called Aegis Ashore.

The government announced the suspension of the deployment plan last week.

The Japanese Defense Minister has cited technical issues in announcing a halt to the planned deployment of the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system in the country.

Kono Taro said on Monday that his ministry discovered it has to revamp an interceptor missile in order to ensure the safe landing of a rocket booster.

Japanese Defense Minister Kono Taro says the government will suspend a plan to deploy the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system in the country.

Kono told reporters on Monday that due to technical and financial challenges the plan to deploy the system was being halted.

Japanese Defense Minister Kono Taro has announced that the government will suspend a plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore missile defense system in the country.

Kono spoke to reporters on Monday, citing financial and technical challenges as reasons for the decision.

NHK has learned that the International Olympic Committee plans to finalize in September a new plan for the 2020 Tokyo Games. The coronavirus pandemic forced organizers to push back the Games by one year.

The Tokyo Olympics are now scheduled to open in July next year. It is estimated that the postponement will cost several billion dollars.

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.

TOKYO — Nissan outlined a new plan on Thursday to become a smaller, more cost-efficient carmaker after the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated a slide in profitability that culminated in its first annual loss in 11 years.

Under a new four-year plan, the Japanese manufacturer will slash its production capacity and model range by about a fifth to help cut 300 billion yen from fixed costs. It will shut plants in Spain and Indonesia, leave the South Korean market and pull its Datsun brand from Russia as part of a strategy unveiled on Wednesday to share production globally with its partners Renault and Mitsubishi.

Renault and Nissan have shelved plans to push towards the full merger former leader Carlos Ghosn craved and will instead fix their troubled alliance to try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, five senior sources told Reuters.

Nissan has long resisted Renault's proposals for a full-blown merger as executives felt the French carmaker was not paying its fair share for the engineering work it did in Japan, sowing discord that some feared could wreck the partnership.

The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the International Olympic Committee have decided to work together to cut costs further for the postponed Games.

The 2020 summer Games have been postponed until the summer of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.