Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has suggested that next year will be the last time the government hosts an annual memorial ceremony for the 2011 disaster.
The government decided at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to hold a ceremony in Tokyo on March 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of the massive quake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan, triggering a nuclear accident in Fukushima.
The operator of the Ikata nuclear power plant in western Japan says that during maintenance of its No.3 reactor, a warning signal was emitted indicating trouble involving a fuel unit. But it added that no radioactive materials were released.
Shikoku Electric Power Company said workers were checking fuel units stored in a pool of the reactor in Ehime Prefecture on Monday when they received a signal that a fuel unit had accidentally fallen from a lift.
The Japanese government has decided it will not to give subsidies this fiscal year ending March to a university where a large number of foreign students have gone missing.
Tokyo University and Graduate School of Social Welfare has lost contact with more than 1,600 foreign students, including enrollees from Vietnam and Nepal, over the past three years.
The Defense Ministry has launched an environmental survey on an island in southwestern Japan where it plans to relocate US military exercises.
About 20 people, including ministry officials, arrived at Mageshima island in Nishinoomote city, Kagoshima prefecture, on Tuesday morning. The ministry says they will first study the island's wildlife and vegetation.
The Japanese government has adopted a set of measures to deal with the new strain of coronavirus that emerged from China after Japan's first case was confirmed last week.
A man who returned from Wuhan, China, was confirmed last Thursday as the country's first patient.
The Japanese government has decided to postpone a decision on the basic policy for the development of integrated resorts including casinos following a bribery scandal.
The government drafted a basic policy, which includes criteria for selecting areas where the resorts will be built, in September. It was planning to officially approve the policy by the end of January.
A Japanese fishing boat that was seized by the Russian border guard last week has returned to its homeport in Nemuro City, Hokkaido.
The No.68 Shoyo-maru had six crew members. It was seized last Wednesday and taken to Russian-controlled Kunashiri Island after an inspection.
Quarantine officials at a port near Tokyo have conducted a drill aimed at preventing the new coronavirus linked to a pneumonia outbreak in China from spreading in Japan.
About 100 personnel, including officials from the Yokohama quarantine station, Japan Coast Guard and police, took part in the exercise in Yokohama Bay.
Visitors at a Buddhist temple in western Japan marked a time-honored tradition by soaking themselves in cold water in a ritual aimed at toughening the body and soul.
Monday is "daikan" in the traditional Japanese calendar, which means the coldest time of the year. About 10 people braved the chilly temperatures by soaking themselves in frigid water.
A patrol plane unit of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force is preparing for its intelligence-gathering mission in the Middle East.
The defense ministry announced that as of Monday local time, two P-3C aircrafts which departed from Japan on January 11 had replaced a unit engaged in anti-piracy activities off Somalia.
The Japanese Diet has kicked off its latest session, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowing to impress the world with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics.
Abe says the Games are a chance for communities hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami nearly nine years ago to show how far they've come.
Russian authorities say they have released a Japanese fishing boat after detaining it last week.
The authorities say they freed the No.68 Shoyo-maru on Monday after receiving a deposit.
The Tokyo metropolitan government has designated the competition venues of the coming Olympic and Paralympic Games as priority areas for the next generation 5G communication standard.
5G networks enable high-speed, large-capacity communication. Full-scale services will start in Japan this spring.
Japan's Cabinet has approved a record budget for fiscal 2020 that includes ballooning funding for social security programs.
Government officials submitted the draft budget to the regular Diet session on Monday.