News

Japan's health ministry says it confirmed 2,714 new cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo on Sunday.

The daily tally is up 471 from a week ago.

A civic group says blood tests it conducted on people living near US military bases in Okinawa have detected two to four times Japan's national average level of widely used chemical compounds known collectively as PFAS, or poly-fluorinated alkyl substances.

Many of the compounds are described as toxic.

Sport fans in Japan had a chance to enjoy Olympic and Paralympic sports at an event to revisit last year's Tokyo Games.

The event took place at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Sunday.

A Ukrainian parliamentary delegation visiting Japan is calling on countries to put more pressure on Russia. This is the first time that a delegation from Kyiv has visited Japan since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine began in February.

The group consists of five members of the Ukrainian parliament. It arrived at Narita Airport near Tokyo on Saturday. Among the lawmakers are an economic expert and a former soldier, who fought against pro-Russian armed groups.

Alarm about the lack of progress in returning some Japanese abductees from North Korea is rising 20 years after five of them made it home.

At least 12 Japanese nationals taken by North Korea have yet to come home.

Sightseers wasted no time in flocking to the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto on the first weekend of the government's latest domestic travel discount campaign.

On Saturday, tourists and students on school trips packed the shop- and restaurant-lined slope that leads to Kiyomizu Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Saturday marks 20 years since five Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea returned to Japan. At least 12 other abductees are yet to return home.

Hasuike Kaoru, Hasuike Yukiko, Chimura Yasushi, Chimura Fukie and Soga Hitomi were taken to North Korea in 1978 and spent 24 years there. They arrived back in Japan on October 15, 2002, following a historic Japan-North Korea summit where North Korea's then-leader Kim Jong Il admitted to the abductions.

Police in Tokyo say they're cracking down on reckless cyclists amid an uptick in bike-related traffic violations.

Running a red light in the capital could soon land cyclists with a so-called "red ticket".

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says he'll act quickly to ease the public's burden from surging electricity bills. He also suggested the possibility of dealing strictly with the religious group formerly known as the Unification Church, in a wide-ranging interview with NHK.

The exclusive interview was held on Friday before the Diet begins full-scale debate on the economy, diplomacy and many other issues next week.

The Japanese fisheries federation has called on the government to take measures to support fishers in the country ahead of the planned release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.

Sakamoto Masanobu, president of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, handed a list of requests to Fisheries Minister Nomura Tetsuro on Friday.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says he wants next year's Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima to show to the world the group's commitment to protecting peace.

In an interview with NHK, Kishida said peace will be a major issue at the summit in May. He said the G7 leaders will confirm that any aggression, threats or use of nuclear weapons against other countries, or acts that undermine the international order cannot be tolerated. He added that the G7 will signal to the world from the atomic-bombed city its firm resolve to protect peace.

Japan's health ministry confirmed 3,495 new cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo on Friday.

The number is down 59 from last Friday.

Two of Japan's top-tier national universities have basically agreed to merge to enhance their international competitiveness in the field of science.

The Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Tokyo Medical and Dental University announced on Friday that they are aiming to become one entity in two years' time.

Japanese authorities have warned that a hacking group believed to be part of the North Korean government is targeting cryptoasset businesses in Japan.

National Public Safety Commission Chairperson Tani Koichi said on Friday that the authorities found that a North Korean government branch, Lazarus, conducted cyberattacks targeting Japanese cryptoasset businesses and others.