The International geological organization has decided to name a geological age represented by a 770,000-year-old stratum discovered near Tokyo "Chibanian."
A group of scientists, including those at Ibaraki University and the National Institute of Polar Research, filed a request with the International Union of Geological Sciences to register the stratum as a site representing a geological age.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono has said a liaison officer has started working at a US command center for a Self-Defense Force intelligence-gathering mission in the Middle East.
Kono attended an Upper House committee session on Friday about the mission aimed at ensuring the safety of Japan-related shipping operating in the region.
Japanese badminton star Kento Momota has been given the all clear in a health checkup after being involved in a car accident in Malaysia.
Momota's club, NTT East, said on Friday that medical exams concluded that he did not have broken bones or internal organ damage.
A Japanese high court has ordered the suspension of a nuclear reactor in western Japan after local residents filed for an injunction over safety concerns.
The Hiroshima High Court issued the injunction on Friday afternoon for the No.3 reactor at the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture. The plant is operated by Shikoku Electric Power Company.
Japan's Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is likely to take paternity leave sometime in the next three months, now that his son has been born.
Koizumi told reporters on Friday that his wife had given birth to the baby. Koizumi's wife is a freelance TV presenter.
Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono has suggested that tensions in the Middle East are unlikely to escalate for now.
Kono gave the assessment at a meeting of the Lower House Committee on Security on Friday.
Prosecutors in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, are questioning a secretary of Upper House member Anri Kawai on Friday over a suspected violation of the election law.
The prosecutors suspect Kawai paid her campaign staff above the legal limit during her successful run for the Upper House in July last year. They raided her office on Wednesday.
A high court in western Japan has ordered a power utility to suspend operations at a nuclear reactor in Ehime Prefecture after residents raised safety concerns.
Japan's government says it will not be able to achieve its goal of a primary-balance surplus by fiscal 2025 even if economic growth manages to stay above the current level.
The Cabinet Office projects a budget deficit of 3.6 trillion yen, or about 32.7 billion dollars, by the target year.
An evacuation order that has been enforced in three towns in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan, since the 2011 nuclear accident will be partially lifted in March.
The Japanese government reached the decision at a meeting of the nuclear disaster taskforce attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.
Friday marks 25 years since the devastating earthquake that struck Hyogo Prefecture and nearby areas in western Japan, leaving 6,434 people dead.
The tremor known as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occurred on January 17, 1995, destroying many buildings and causing fires.
A Japanese high court will soon rule on whether to suspend a nuclear reactor in western Japan after local residents filed for an injunction over safety concerns.
The Hiroshima High Court will announce a decision on Friday afternoon on the No.3 reactor at the Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture. The plant is operated by Shikoku Power Electric Company.
International researchers say that a new coronavirus, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan last month, is similar in many aspects to the SARS virus that caused an outbreak in China and other parts of Asia in 2003.
US and other researchers have examined the virus by analyzing the gene sequence made available by the World Health Organization. They suggested on Twitter that it is a variant of betacoronavirus like the SARS virus.
Some Japanese government officials are concerned that Washington may pressure Tokyo to pay significantly more for stationing US forces in Japan.
Bilateral negotiations on the cost will likely shift into high gear as early as this summer, with the current five-year agreement on the costs of supporting US forces due to expire in March 2021.