Displaying Items By Tag: Commemorative

TOKYO — Japan's Toyota Motor Corp put its revamped Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, with 30% greater range, on sale Wednesday in a fresh push to promote the zero-emission technology amid rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, including its own.

Toyota has failed until now to win drivers over to fuel cell vehicles (FCV), which remain a niche technology despite Japanese government backing, amid concerns about a lack of fueling stations, resale values and the risk of hydrogen explosions.

Japan's health ministry will likely recommend that prefectural governments set criteria for hospitalizing coronavirus patients as part of efforts to ease the increasing burden on medical institutions.

As an example, the ministry referred to a system to be adopted by the Kanagawa prefectural government later this month. The prefecture had 13,125 confirmed cases as of Thursday, the third largest in the country following Tokyo and Osaka.

The Japanese government will continue to urge people and businesses to redouble their anti-infection efforts to curb an increasing number of coronavirus cases. It also plans to start a tourism stimulus program later this month.

Tokyo reported 206 new cases on Sunday, registering more than 200 for the fourth straight day. Osaka confirmed 32 infections, prompting the prefectural government to issue an alert based on its own criteria.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the government will push forward with its plan to temporarily close schools and will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

The government decided on Thursday to request the closure of all elementary, junior and senior high schools and schools for students with special needs from Monday.

Japanese lawmakers have formed a nonpartisan group to push for the introduction of hospital ships that can provide medical care in the event of a major disaster or an infectious outbreak such as the new coronavirus.

Diet members of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and others held an inaugural meeting on Thursday.