A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has rocked Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo. It hit at around 5:40 pm on Wednesday.

It registered upper 5 on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7. Authorities say there is no threat of a tsunami.

Japan's top government spokesperson has reiterated that no coronavirus-related restrictions on people's activities will be imposed in principle unless a new strain more powerful than the Omicron variant emerges.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu was speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

Japan's current account surplus in the April-to-September period stood at about 4.8 trillion yen, or roughly 33 billion dollars.

Data released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday shows the figure plunged nearly 6.9 trillion yen, or about 47 billion dollars, from the same period last year.

Concern is rising within Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party about dubious political funds reports connected to one of the party's members.

Opposition lawmakers say internal affairs minister Terada Minoru is to blame for inaccurate political funds reports submitted in 2019 and 2020 by one of his local support groups. A deceased individual was listed in the reports as the person in charge of accounting.

Tokyo police have released a drama based on real-life spy incidents to urge Japanese businesses to improve their security measures.

The video is aimed at preventing outflows of advanced technology and protecting Japan's economic security. It depicts ways in which spies target businesses using a variety of tactics to obtain state-of-the-art technologies.

Arrangements are underway for Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to hold separate talks with the leaders of the United States and South Korea on the sidelines of international meetings in Southeast Asia.

Kishida plans to visit Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand from Friday to attend summit meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20.

Relatives of a Sri Lankan woman who died at an immigration detention facility in Japan have called for improvement of the country's system.

Two younger sisters of Wishma Sandamali, who died at the facility in Nagoya City last year, made the appeal in Tokyo on Tuesday, following UN advice.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says he will push to submit legislation to the current Diet session to provide relief to victims of the religious group previously known as the Unification Church.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, and the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin Japan Innovation Party are now divided over some points in the proposed legislation.

Japan's industry ministry is considering extending the lifespan of nuclear power plants to beyond the current 60 years to ensure stable energy supplies.

The secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry presented three proposals on Tuesday.

Sky watchers across much of Japan have enjoyed an enormously rare celestial spectacle -- Uranus hidden by a totally eclipsed moon.

The lunar eclipse began at around 6:09 p.m. on Tuesday and peaked between around 7:16 and 8:42 p.m. The moon returned to its full phase around 9:49 p.m.

Japan's health ministry says 8,665 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The daily tally is up 2,143 from a week ago, for a fourth straight day of week-on-week increase.

Yokota Sakie, whose daughter was abducted by North Korea 45 years ago, has urged Japan's government to take quick action to bring her home.

Yokota's daughter, Megumi, was abducted on November 15, 1977, while on her way home from junior high school in Niigata Prefecture on the Japan Sea coast.

The Bank of Japan has released a summary of its most recent policy meeting that shows board members choosing to stick with monetary easing, arguing that wage increases will be essential for stable inflation.

The "Summary of Opinions" covers discussions at a two-day meeting late last month.

The major Japanese electronic-parts maker Murata Manufacturing is expanding its production base in China.

This comes as the company eyes the growing demand for electric vehicles, as the smartphone market appears to be losing steam.