Otsu City in the western Japanese prefecture of Shiga has conducted a seaplane test flight over scenic Lake Biwa, aiming to revive such flights for the first time in nearly half a century.
Scenic seaplane flights over the country's largest lake had been in operation until 1972. Otsu City wants to attract tourists by reviving the flights. At the city's request, a seaplane operated by a company in Hiroshima Prefecture made three test flights on Tuesday.
Japan's health ministry has called on public health centers to make it mandatory to conduct coronavirus tests at facilities for the elderly when any of the residents or staff develops a fever or other symptoms.
The ministry issued a notice to public health centers across the country via prefectural governments on Thursday.
The Japanese government is trying out various measures to curb the spread of the virus while also supporting the economy. This comes as the number of daily new cases has recently been creeping up.
Japan has been reporting fewer than 1,000 new cases per day for over two months, down from a mid-summer peak.
Japan's health minister has vowed to double the daily capacity of coronavirus antigen tests at airports to 20,000 as Japan eases entry restrictions for foreigners from around the world.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Tamura Norihisa visited the quarantine station at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday. He inspected how saliva-based antigen tests were conducted for entrants to Japan.
Some countries have officially approved COVID-19 vaccines before completing all necessary clinical tests to confirm their safety and efficacy. The World Health Organization warns that rushing to make a vaccine widely available could pose risks.
Russia officially approved in August a domestically developed vaccine for the coronavirus after only completing phase 2 in the normal 3-phase clinical testing process. It plans to start group vaccinations mainly for medical workers in November.
The Japanese government plans to offer subsidies to universities and research institutes that allow their equipment to be used for PCR tests.
The education and science ministry says that as of early August, 71 university hospitals and 27 universities and research institutes across the country had equipment that would allow up to 4,400 PCR tests to be conducted per day.
The commander of US forces in Japan has directed incoming personnel to take a coronavirus test before leaving a mandatory 14-day period of restricted movement upon arrival in the country.
The commander made the announcement on Friday, when it was confirmed that there have been 189 infections across US military facilities in Japan to date.
Japan's health minister says he wants to raise the country's coronavirus testing capacity at airports to prepare for easing of travel restrictions.
Kato Katsunobu told reporters on Tuesday that he plans to raise the number of PCR tests at airports from the current maximum of 2,300 per day to 10,000 by the end of September. He said he will do so by encouraging the use of saliva in such tests.
Japan's health ministry approved on Friday the use of saliva to conduct PCR tests for people with no coronavirus symptoms.
Last month, the ministry allowed the use of saliva in PCR tests for the coronavirus, in addition to the method of swabbing the nostril. But tests using saliva, which are considered to be easier, were limited to those who had symptoms, like a fever.
Japan's Defense Minister Kono Taro says the country has asked the United States to conduct coronavirus tests on all of its military personnel who come to Japan.
Kono told reporters on Friday that the ministry requested two tests, one before such personnel leave the US and the other after they enter Japan, regardless of whether they have fevers or other suspected symptoms.