The Japanese government has decided to step up efforts to better address reputational damage that could occur following the release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant in northeastern Japan suffered a triple meltdown in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
An evacuation order has been lifted for a part of areas designated as "no-entry zones" in Futaba Town that hosts the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Futaba is the only municipality in Fukushima Prefecture that remains fully evacuated following the 2011 nuclear accident. "No-entry zones" make up 95 percent of it.
Japan's weather officials warn Typhoon Hinnamnor may hit the country's southwestern islands on Wednesday with a force powerful enough to destroy homes.
The meteorological agency says the very strong typhoon was advancing west over the seas to the south of Japan at 35 kilometers per hour as of 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Venues are being chosen in Japan for 14 Group of Seven ministerial meetings that will be held before the G7 summit. The summit is schedule to take place in Hiroshima next May.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu said on Tuesday that the G7 foreign ministers' meeting will be held in Karuizawa, a resort town in Nagano Prefecture.
The Japanese government is making arrangements to start rolling out coronavirus vaccines targeting the Omicron variant as early as September.
An earlier plan was to begin offering the shots in mid-October or later to people who have received at least two jabs. Officials want to bring the date forward as the seventh wave of infections continues in the country.
The latest data from Japan's government shows companies are having a difficult time hiring workers. The ratio of job openings to seekers has increased for a 7th straight month.
The labor ministry says the figure in July ticked up to 1.29. This means there were 129 job openings for every 100 applicants.
Japanese weather officials are warning that Typhoon Hinnamnor could bring extremely strong winds to Japan's southwestern islands on Wednesday.
The Meteorological Agency says that as of 3 a.m. on Tuesday, the very strong typhoon was located south of the Japanese archipelago and moving westward at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour.
A panel of experts at Japan's health ministry has approved a COVID-19 antibody drug developed by British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
The panel at a meeting on Monday gave the green light for the use of the Evusheld drug.
Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency has held the first meeting of a panel to investigate measures against a dubious marketing practice known as "spiritual sales."
A religious group previously known as the Unification Church is in the spotlight for allegedly being involved in the practice.
A company that makes devices that supply power to parked aircraft says it is developing a product that can help reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Tokyo-based AGP says the device runs on lithium batteries. Most other units are powered by diesel.
The company tested the device at Narita Airport on Monday. It was connected to a Boeing 767. Workers opened cargo doors and turned on the cabin lights.
NHK has learned that a Japanese scientist was among the members of an international deep-sea exploration team who reached a depth of 9,801 meters in a recent mission. This marks a new record for Japanese explorers of the ocean's depths.
The international team includes scientists from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and Nagoya University. They reported that an undersea probe reached the deepest point of the Ogasawara Trench on August 13.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko left for Indonesia on Monday to attend an international conference where heads of cities from around the world will discuss climate change and other issues.
The conference, in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, will focus on measures against climate change, ways to realize an inclusive society, and other matters.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 9,880 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday. It is the first time the number has dropped below 10,000 since July 11 this year.
The daily tally for the capital is down about 5,200 from a week ago, marking the eighth straight day of week-on-week declines.
Japanese consumers bought more audio-visual equipment and related electronic devices in July. Shipments went up for the first time in 13 months led by large-screen TV panels.
The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association says domestic shipments of video equipment rose to 51 billion yen, or about 370 million dollars. That's up 4.6 percent in yen terms from a year ago.