NHK has learned that three British men suspected of robbing a jewelry store in Tokyo have been detained in Britain. A court in the country is holding a hearing to decide whether to extradite them to Japan.

They allegedly forced their way into the store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in November 2015. They are accused of seriously injuring a security guard and stealing jewelry.

Japan's ruling coalition said the country should be able to launch a "counterstrike" if it's targeted by an armed attack. It's set to be one of the biggest changes to Japanese security policy since the end of World War Two.

The main Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito held talks on Friday. They said Japan's current system is poorly equipped to deal with growing threats in the region.

Japanese government officials have agreed on a plan to set total defense spending for the next five fiscal years at 40 to 43 trillion yen, or around 300 billion dollars.

They discussed the appropriate amount after Prime Minister Kishida Fumio instructed ministers to raise the annual defense and other related budgets to 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product in fiscal 2027.

Japan's health ministry said it's ready to respond to up to 900,000 coronavirus and influenza patients a day in the event of a double outbreak.

The ministry, earlier, estimated that daily coronavirus cases would reach a peak of 450,000, and the number of people contracting influenza would rise to 300,000 per day.

Coronavirus infections appear to be picking up in Japan, according to the latest seven-day average of new cases. The country is facing an eighth wave of the outbreak.

Data released by the health ministry show that the nationwide average has risen for seven weeks in a row.

Japan's two governing parties are aiming to reach an agreement that the country should be capable of conducting counterstrikes on missile-launching sites and other enemy targets.

An agreement at the two parties' working-level talks on Friday would mark a major shift in Japan's security policy after the end of World War Two.

Japan's government has put forward a bill to help the financial victims of religious corporations.

That includes the religious group, formally known as the Unification Church, which has been in the spotlight since the man who shot former prime minister Abe Shinzo cited its exploitation of his family as his motivation.

Japan is urging residents to bundle up and power down.

The government expects a major strain on electricity this winter, as countries around the world fight an energy crunch.

Municipal officials in central Japan have instructed a nursery school to personally apologize to children who were abused by its teachers.

At least 15 acts of cruelty came to light on Wednesday at the private nursery school in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, turned 21 on Thursday.

The Princess has been performing official duties as an adult member of the Imperial family since coming of age last year.

Japanese officials plan to put China top of the list of what their country sees as regional security challenges when they revise the National Security Strategy by the end of the year.

The document outlines Japan's basic diplomatic and defense policies. It refers to countries that pose security challenges.

Japan's Self-Defense Forces and US forces in Japan have launched a joint unit that will share, analyze and process information gathered from their assets, including drones and vessels.

The Japan-US Bilateral Intelligence Analysis Cell, or BIAC, was set up at the US Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.

UNESCO has decided to add a group of traditional Japanese dances performed across the country to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

The United Nations cultural agency is holding a conference in Morocco's capital, Rabat.

Japanese ophthalmologist Hattori Tadashi has received this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as "Asia's Nobel Prize." He was honored for treating more than 20,000 people in Vietnam for free.

The ceremony was held in the Philippines capital Manila on Wednesday.