For the first time in 12 years, Japan's education ministry has revised its guidelines for teachers on how to instruct students about their behavior. The guidelines call for schools to review their rules frequently to prevent excessively strict guidance.
The ministry released the guidelines on Tuesday. The revision reflects discussions by experts.
Japan's Diet will debate a bill on Tuesday that could help people who have been exploited by the former Unification Church. It is meant to regulate efforts to solicit donations for religious groups.
The main ruling Liberal Democratic Party presented a revised draft of the bill after two opposition parties called for a more effective one. They want authorities to prevent religious corporations from collecting donations against people's will.
The Japanese government has tightened its rules for travelers from South Africa, where a new variant of the coronavirus was detected.
Japan started refusing arrivals from South Africa on Saturday. Japanese and non-Japanese who have resident status in Japan are allowed entry. But they are being asked to self-quarantine for 14 days on arrival in the country.
An online petition is calling for legislation in Japan banning discrimination against sexual minorities as Tokyo gears up to host the Olympics and Paralympics next year.
Groups supporting sexual minorities, along with the international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch, started collecting signatures online on Thursday.
Japan's Foreign Ministry plans to launch a research and study project to help create international rules on how to handle infectious disease outbreaks onboard cruise ships.
In February, coronavirus cluster infections were confirmed aboard the Diamond Princess, a cruise vessel registered in Britain and operated by a US company.
Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has laid out anti-infection rules for restaurants that hope to join the "Go To Eat" campaign.
The rules include placing disinfectant at entrances and ensuring that there is sufficient ventilation. Tables must also be placed more than a meter apart or separated by partitions.
Japan's government is easing entry restrictions for travelers from Singapore on Friday to allow short-term visits by businesspeople between the two countries.
This is in line with the government's policy to allow travelers from countries and territories where the coronavirus pandemic is largely contained.
The Japanese government is easing entry restrictions for travelers from Taiwan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar on Tuesday.
Long-term residents, like expatriate workers, will now be able to travel back and forth between Japan and these regions.
Japan's health ministry has decided to relax the rules for discharging coronavirus patients with mild symptoms from hospitals.
The government made the decision after its expert panel on Wednesday stressed the need to put priority on seriously ill patients. The health experts recommend that people who only have minor symptoms should self-isolate in their homes or hotels.
Japan's top court has finalized a ruling against Okinawa Prefecture over a landfill project needed to move a US airbase in the southern prefecture.
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by the prefectural government to halt the project.
Japan's health ministry has compiled fresh guidelines on ways to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. They include giving local governments discretion to ask patients with mild symptoms to recover at home.
The Japanese government presented plans to deal with the coronavirus last month, but said that some policies would be changed if the number of patients increased significantly in certain regions.
AMSTERDAM — Fiat Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee and Suzuki's Vitara diesel models both break emissions rules and must be fixed or face a ban on sales across Europe, the Dutch road authority ruled on Thursday. The RDW authority, acting as the reference regulator for across the European Union, said Jeep had developed a software fix and that the authority had ordered the company to recall the model across Europe to roll it out. It added Suzuki had yet to find a credible solution for the Vitara. "Suzuki must come with adequate improvement measures or the RDW will begin the process of revoking its European type approval," the RDW said in a statement, adding it had also started the process of revoking approval for the Jeep Grand Cherokee as a "precautionary measure." Regulators across the world have been testing diesel models since Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that it used illegal software to cheat U.S. emissions tests. The RDW said it had found both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Vitara had used "prohibited emissions strategies" that led them to emit higher levels of harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) on the road than under testing conditions. Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure, Stientje van Veldhoven, said in a letter to parliament she would inform prosecutors of the RDW's findings. Fiat Chrysler and Suzuki could not immediately be reached for comment.
LAUSANNE--No taking a knee at the Olympics. No hand gestures with political meaning. No disrespect at medal ceremonies.
The International Olympic Committee published guidelines Thursday specifying which types of athlete protests will not be allowed at the 2020 Tokyo Games.