The UN crime congress has kicked off in the Japanese city of Kyoto with thorough anti-coronavirus measures in place. (NHK)

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Nagasaki launched on 3 March 2021 "Mogami", the first-in-class 30FFM, a next generation frigate for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). (Naval News)

The Japanese government has extended a state of emergency imposed to contain the coronavirus for two more weeks in Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa. (NHK)

Japan's communications ministry, now at the center of wining-and-dining scandals, says another senior official was treated to expensive meals by telecom giant NTT. (NHK)

Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a secretary for the Liberal Democratic Party over the alleged illicit filming of a woman in Osaka City last year, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)

The Lower House of Japan's Diet has approved a record budget worth more than 106 trillion yen, or about 1 trillion dollars, for next fiscal year starting in April. (NHK)

The Japanese government has asked China not to conduct coronavirus tests using anal swabs on Japanese people visiting the country. (NHK)

Japan is likely to receive an increased supply of coronavirus vaccines in April when the government starts administering shots to older people, Taro Kono, minister in charge of vaccinations, said Sunday. (Japan Times)

In Japan, a state of emergency in some areas is ending on Sunday. The government imposed the measure in January to fight the coronavirus. (NHK)

The government on Friday adopted a bill designed to prevent through law the abuse of GPS monitoring devices for stalking. (Japan Times)

Japan's minister in charge of coronavirus vaccination says vaccines for the elderly will likely be delivered to all municipalities in the country by the end of June. (NHK)

Japan will consider resuming its subsidy program aimed at promoting domestic tourism only in some parts of the country even if the current state of emergency over the novel coronavirus is completely lifted, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Japan's top government spokesperson says measures against the coronavirus will be eased in stages even if the government lifts an emergency declaration earlier than initially planned. (NHK)

An employee of major Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation has been released from prison in China after serving his sentence of three years for harming national security. (NHK)

The governor of Shimane Prefecture in western Japan has urged the central government to resolve a territorial dispute with South Korea over the Takeshima Islands. (NHK)

Japan is considering introducing waiting lists for COVID-19 vaccinations to avoid waste, the minister in charge of inoculation effort has said, as the country prepares to expand the program's scope. (Japan Times)

More communications ministry officials have been found to have been treated to expensive meals by a son of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the ministry said Monday, further widening the scandal that has already brought four senior bureaucrats under scrutiny. (Japan Today)

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has expressed to the Group of Seven industrialized nations his determination to hold the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. (NHK)

The Japanese government has decided to amend the country's juvenile act, in accordance with the revised civil code that lowers the age of adulthood from the current 20 to 18 in April of next year. (NHK)

The Japanese government plans to revise the immigration law to allow some foreigners who have received deportation orders to stay with family members until they leave the country. (NHK)