A Tokyo-based housing company has unveiled a 5-story building made almost entirely out of wood. It's the latest Japanese firm to turn to the eco-friendly construction of business and residential complexes.

Aqurahome built the 17-meter-tall building in Kawasaki City, near Tokyo. The major construction materials and the structural framework are all wood-based.

The municipal assembly of Ichikawa City in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, has begun livestreaming its plenary sessions via YouTube, even showing faces of members on the floor.

The move came in response to more than 100 complaints the assembly received from residents. Some said members were dozing off or reading books apparently not related to topics debated during meetings, and urged that lazy assembly members be reprimanded.

The vice president of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Aso Taro, has traveled to South Korea to meet with the country's top government officials and business leaders.

Aso is a former Japanese prime minister. He currently heads a committee on bilateral cooperation that is comprised of Japanese and South Korean politicians and businesspeople.

NHK has learned that the government is planning to urge medical institutions and medical equipment manufacturers in Japan to review their handling of surgery videos that contain patients' personal information.

The Personal Information Protection Commission launched a survey of medical institutions after eye doctors were found to be selling videos to a medical equipment maker.

NHK has learned the Japanese government will ask for about 820 billion yen, or 5.5 billion dollars, in a supplementary budget to safeguard the country's fertilizer and grain supply, among other issues. This comes as the depreciation of the yen and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have jeopardized Japan's ability to procure the items.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry is expected to allocate about 164 billion yen, or 1.1 billion dollars, of the total to ensuring food security. This includes funds for a project to turn rice paddies into wheat and soybean fields.

NHK has learned that Japanese police officials have questioned former executives of Ohsho Food Service on a voluntary basis. The police have also raided the family home of the company's founder. The moves are in connection with the 2013 murder of the firm's president.

Ohigashi Takayuki was shot in front of the company's Kyoto headquarters. Ohsho operates hundreds of Chinese restaurants across Japan and overseas.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa is to attend a Group of Seven ministerial-level meeting in Germany to discuss Ukraine and other topics.

The two-day meeting in Munster, western Germany, will start on Thursday.

A survey shows that a third of people whose parents belong to religious groups, including the former Unification Church, have been told by family members to donate to the organizations.

A group studying social issues conducted the survey online in September. More than 1,100 children of people belonging to religious groups including Buddhist, Christian and Shinto organizations answered.

Japan's Imperial Household Agency has announced that the imperial family will offer the traditional public New Year's greetings, for the first time in three years.

The agency says Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and other family members plan to appear on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 2.

The number of syphilis cases in Japan this year has exceeded 10,000 for the first time since comparable data became available in 1999.

Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases says 10,141 cases were reported as of October 23. That is about 1.7 times the figure for the same period last year, which was a record high.

Toyota Motor posted record sales for the first half of this fiscal year, helped by the weaker yen, but rising costs of raw materials led to its first net profit drop in two years.

The Japanese auto giant logged group sales of 17.7 trillion yen or about 120 billion dollars in the April-to-September period, an increase of 14.4 percent in yen terms from a year earlier. Sales were robust in overseas markets, including China and Southeast Asia.

Japan's health ministry says it confirmed 6,520 new cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The daily tally is up 1,818 from a week earlier, for a tenth straight day of week-on-week increase.

Japan's top government spokesperson Matsuno Hirokazu has commented on a ruling made on Tuesday by the Sendai High Court in northeastern Japan.

Matsuno said the court ruled this year's Upper House election unconstitutional due to huge disparity in the values of votes. But he said the court turned down the plaintiffs' demand to invalidate the election.

Food manufacturers in Japan are further increasing their prices in November in response to rising material costs and a weaker yen.

Major dairy manufacturers marked up the prices of milk, yogurt and other items by between two and 12.5 percent on Tuesday. This came after dairy manufacturers and milk producers agreed to increase the cost of raw milk, due to surging prices for feed and energy.