Japan plans to downgrade COVID-19 classification on May 8
TOKYO, Jan 27 (NHK) - The Japanese government is planning to downgrade COVID-19 on May 8 to the same category of infectious diseases as seasonal influenza.
The plan comes after Prime Minister Kishida Fumio last week instructed health minister Kato Katsunobu to consider reclassifying the disease to category five, the same grouping as the flu, in principle, this coming spring.
COVID-19 is currently classified as the equivalent to category two, the second-most severe tier on Japan's infectious disease classification system. The level allows authorities to take strict measures, including restrictions on people's movements to prevent the spread of the disease. ...continue reading
Jan 27 (ANNnewsCH) - 政府は新型コロナウイルスの感染症法上の位置付けを季節性インフルエンザ並みの「5類」に引き下げる時期について、5月8日からとする方針を固めました。 ...continue reading

AP - Nov 26
Top diplomats from Japan and China met for bilateral talks Saturday as they try to resolve disputes including China's ban on Japanese seafood that has badly hit Japanese exporters.

Reuters - Nov 25
Japan passed on Friday an extra budget worth around 13.1 trillion yen ($88 billion) aimed at helping households cope with the rising cost of living and corporations boost domestic investment, even amid concerns over the country's worsening finances.

News On Japan - Nov 23
Japan hosted the "Self-Defense Forces Joint Exercise," from October 10, attended by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and the U.S. military. JNN reports on Japan's only elite unit, the 1st Airborne Brigade, during their training.

The Diplomat - Nov 23
Japan’s biggest defense company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has outlined plans for future growth through development investment in new major national defense projects, including standoff missiles and a joint next-generation fighter program with Britain and Italy.

NHK - Nov 22
North Korea's space agency says the country has launched a rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite and put it successfully into orbit.

Kyodo - Nov 22
A Japanese health ministry panel on Tuesday decided to ban HHCH, a synthetic cannabinoid, from Dec. 2 after many people who consumed gummies containing the compound had to go to the hospital.

dailymail.co.uk - Nov 22
The home of the US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel became the target of anti-Semitic vandals over the weekend who spray painted the word 'Nazis' on a fence outside his house in Michigan.

CNA - Nov 21
Japan has condemned the seizure of a Japanese-operated cargo ship by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, south of Israel.

AOL - Nov 19
Daisaku Ikeda, a former leader of Japan's influential Buddhist group Soka Gakkai, has died at the age of 95.

News On Japan - Nov 18
Edogawa Ward in Tokyo, which has the highest incidence of bicycle thefts in the city, announced the installation of 80 surveillance cameras in bicycle parking areas at private condominiums and other locations.

CCTV Video News Agency - Nov 18
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in San Francisco of the United States on Nov. 16, reaffirming the positioning of comprehensively advancing the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between China and Japan.

eurasiareview.com - Nov 18
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s inaugural two-day visit to Malaysia heralded a new strategic bulwark of defence and security criticality.

News On Japan - Nov 16
A car crashed into the barricades near the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday morning, injuring a police officer.

NHK - Nov 15
Wednesday marks 46 years since a 13-year-old junior high school girl was kidnapped by North Korean agents.

NHK - Nov 14
Japan's government has approved the resignation of State Minister of Finance Kanda Kenji, who repeatedly failed to pay taxes for his company.

NHK - Nov 14
An NHK opinion poll shows the approval rate for the Cabinet of Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has fallen below 30 percent for the first time since he took office two years ago.