Japan will compile a considerably large supplementary budget immediately after the upcoming general election to ease pandemic pain and back long-term growth in areas such as green, digital and infrastructure, a ruling party heavyweight said on Sunday.

Japan’s former foreign minister Fumio Kishida is set to be sworn in as Mr Yoshihide Suga’s successor as Prime Minister, after he won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s internal election on Wednesday (Sept 29).

Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on Thursday for the first time in nearly six months, as the number of new cases and deaths falls and the strain on the medical system eases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.

Japan's popular coronavirus vaccination minister, Taro Kono, announced his candidacy on Friday to lead the ruling party and, by extension, become the next prime minister, highlighting his image as an outspoken reformer with a conservative streak.

Japanese former cabinet minister Sanae Takaichi has secured enough support in the ruling party to join the race to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday he would step down, setting the stage for a new premier after a one-year tenure marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response and rapidly dwindling public support.

Japan is investigating the death of two men who received jabs from batches of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine suspended from use due to contamination, the health ministry said yesterday.

Japan marked the 76th anniversary of its World War II surrender on Sunday with a somber ceremony in which Prime Minister Yosihide Suga pledged for the tragedy of war to never be repeated but avoided apologizing for his country’s aggression.

Japanese police said Saturday they arrested a man who stabbed 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo hours earlier, in what Japanese media reported to be a random burst of violence unrelated to the ongoing Olympic Games.

Hiroshima on Friday marked the 76th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, as the mayor of the Japanese city urged global leaders to unite to eliminate nuclear weapons, just as they are united against the coronavirus.

Toyota won’t be airing any Olympic-themed advertisements on Japanese television during the Tokyo Games despite being one of the IOC’s top corporate sponsors.

Struggling with rising coronavirus cases and a deeply unpopular Olympics, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is at risk of becoming the next in a long line of short-term leaders.

Surging COVID-19 cases in Tokyo have hit a two-month high that almost guarantees the Japanese government will declare a new state of emergency to start next week and continue for the duration of the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan's deputy prime minister said the country needed to defend Taiwan with the United States if the island was invaded, Kyodo news agency reported late Monday, a comment likely to upset Beijing which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province.

Emergency response crews from Japan's defense force were dispatched to the central city of Atami after landslides triggered by heavy rains left at least 20 people missing, public broadcaster NHK said on Saturday.

Speaking to the Hudson Institute think tank, State Minister of Defence Yasuhide Nakayama questioned whether the decision of many countries, including Japan and United States, to follow a "one-China" policy that has recognized Beijing rather than Taipei since the 1970s would stand the test of time.

A former Japanese justice minister received a three-year jail term yesterday for vote-buying in an attempt to get his wife elected to a national office, local media said.

In what might be the unlikeliest indicator of a post-pandemic recovery, a pair of premium Japanese melons have sold for $24,800 at auction, over 22 times more than last year’s virus-hit price.

A South Korean court yesterday dismissed a case brought by a handful of World War II sex slaves and their families against the Japanese government, saying Tokyo enjoyed “sovereign immunity” over the issue.

A top Chinese official yesterday outlined plans to ensure only “patriots” run Hong Kong as Beijing seeks to neuter any remaining democratic opposition and take a more direct role in how the business hub is run.