As vote counting continues in the US presidential election, the Japanese government plans to strengthen communication with the US and other countries over the security situation in East Asia.
Some Japanese government officials have expressed concern about a possible political vacuum caused by a delay in determining the election's outcome.
Japanese Finance Minister Aso Taro says his country is keeping a close eye on the US presidential election.
Aso spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning as vote-counting was starting in the United States.
The commander of US forces in Japan has said the capabilities of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the US military can be used to "deliver combat troops to defend" the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider was speaking to reporters on Monday aboard a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer.
A key Japanese member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, has expressed joy at the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons reaching the required 50 ratifications to go into effect.
ICAN International Steering Group member Kawasaki Akira looked back on the path he took with many atomic bomb survivors during an online news conference.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed readiness for formal negotiations with Japan on its share of the cost of stationing US forces in the country.
Pompeo said on Wednesday that the United States and Japan held the first consultations last week for a new host nation agreement by which Japan will take on its share of the burden for their mutual security.
Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It's Suga's first face-to-face diplomacy since taking office.
The two are believed to have confirmed efforts to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance.
Some US media outlets report that six people who attended the event introducing President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The ceremony was held at the White House Rose Garden on September 26.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and US President Donald Trump have agreed to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance.
Suga talked with Trump by telephone for about 25 minutes on Sunday night in their first phone call since Suga took office on September 16.
NHK has learned that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be in Tokyo early next month for talks with his Japanese, Australian and Indian counterparts.
The four also met in New York in September last year. In October, they are expected to discuss China's increased maritime activities, and reaffirm their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law.
A US foreign policy expert says Japan's new prime minister should put relations with South Korea and the United States among his priorities. Suga Yoshihide was chosen this week to head the main governing Liberal Democratic Party, making him likely to become prime minister.
Michael Green, a former White House official for Asia who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, spoke to NHK last week.
Two Japanese tennis players, Kunieda Shingo and Kamiji Yui, have won the wheelchair titles in the men's singles and the women's doubles competitions at the US Open, respectively.
World top-ranked Kunieda clinched the men's singles title for the first time in five years, beating third-ranked Alfie Hewett of Britain in the final on Sunday.
Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi says she is enjoying her second US Open victory more than she enjoyed her first.
Osaka held an online news conference for Japanese broadcasters on Sunday, one day after beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the women's singles final.
Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi has won the women's singles title at the US Open.
She beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to claim her third women's singles Grand Slam. Osaka won the US tournament in 2018.
Japanese tennis star Osaka Naomi has won the women's singles title at the US Open.