Japan's Reconstruction Minister Akiba Kenya has refused to step down from his Cabinet post amid calls from the opposition camp that he resign.

The Liberal Democrat has been mired in scandals over a possible election violation, political funds and alleged links to the controversial religious group formerly known as the Unification Church.

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has finished work to prevent large debris from falling into a fuel storage pool in the No.1 reactor building.

Tokyo Electric Power Company on Thursday released footage showing precautions it had taken to keep a broken crane from falling into the pool.

The Japanese government plans to raise public awareness about high-risk situations for contracting the coronavirus and provide assistance to foreign nationals in the country.

The government is warning people to be wary of five situations that could increase the risk of infection.

The governor of Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido and the mayor of its biggest city, Sapporo, are united in stepping up preventive measures as coronavirus infections are increasing there again.

Prefectural officials confirmed 75 new cases on Wednesday. Fifty-one of them are in Sapporo. The tally in the prefecture surpassed 70 for the third day in a row.

The head of the atomic bomb survivors' group in Hiroshima, Tsuboi Sunao, says the news that the treaty will take effect is a big step forward.

Tsuboi said the treaty will not lead to the immediate abolition of nuclear weapons, but it will still be a major step towards achieving that goal.

Belarusians living in Japan held a protest in Tokyo calling for the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Unrest continues in Belarus as massive protests have swept the country for more than two months against suspected poll rigging in the August presidential election.

Sources close to the Japanese Prime Minister say he plans to step down to deal with a health problem.

Abe Shinzo is scheduled to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his decision.

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato has disclosed plans to step up measures at ports of entry from China to prevent the spread of infections caused by a new strain of the coronavirus.

Questionnaires about symptoms will be distributed to passengers arriving on flights from Wuhan, China, where the deadly outbreak began.