The International Monetary Fund says Japan's policy challenge in the near term is to ensure that the 2 percent inflation target is reached durably.

One of the arrested suspects in a burglary case in a Tokyo suburb has told police that he was afraid he would be ''purged'' if he talked to investigators.

Japan's Meteorological Agency is warning of possible eruptions for the Beyonesu Rocks or Bayonnaise Rocks, a small volcano in the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Tokyo.

Railway officials in western Japan say they will get to the bottom of the problems that resulted in trains being left stranded for hours in heavy snowfall.

NHK has learned that police in Tokyo have arrested seven individuals linked to the theft last year of cash worth more than 270,000 dollars.

The Japan Sumo Association says two wrestlers will be promoted to the second-highest juryo division. One of them has become the fastest to reach the tier in decades.

Heavy snow in central and western Japan has left vehicles stranded over a 10-kilometer stretch of expressway between Nagoya and Kyoto.

Japan's opposition parties are reacting to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's policy speech on Monday.

Police in Japan believe a criminal group that has been carrying out a series of violent burglaries in the Tokyo area may be linked to crimes in other parts of the country. They suspect the criminals are using social media to recruit members.

Japanese weather officials warn that the coldest air mass of this winter is expected to bring heavy snow to the Sea of Japan coast and some areas on the Pacific side of the country from Tuesday.

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has instructed ministers to consider steps toward recategorizing COVID-19 into the same class of infectious diseases as seasonal flu this spring.

Tokyo police have launched a robbery and murder investigation after a 90-year-old woman was found dead at her home. A spate of similar robberies have occurred in the Kanto region this month.