The number of dengue fever cases has been soaring in Bangladesh, with more than 350 deaths from the illness registered since the start of last month.

NHK has learned that an expert panel at Japan's health ministry will decide later this month whether to approve a new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease.

The Japanese government has compiled an updated version of its basic plan for tackling cancer, putting emphasis on early detection of the disease by increasing numerical targets for checkups.

The Japanese government says it plans to offer a detailed explanation on situations where it recommends people still wear face masks following its easing on Monday of coronavirus mask-wearing guidelines.

Japanese industry organizations are reviewing their anti-coronavirus guidelines that mostly call on people to wear masks indoors.

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.

Japan's emergency officials say the weekly number of cases in which ambulance crews struggled to find hospitals to accept patients has renewed a record high for the fourth straight week.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu has instructed ministers to take thorough measures to prevent the spread of bird flu and ensure stable supplies of chicken and eggs.

The Japanese government will consider recategorizing COVID-19 as an infectious disease on par with the seasonal flu. Doing so would allow authorities to ease the pandemic's impact on socioeconomic activities.

Japan's health ministry confirmed 21,186 new cases of coronavirus in Tokyo on Wednesday. The figure is up 2,374 from a week ago.

Japan's health ministry says at least 776 COVID-19 patients died at home across the country in July and August in the seventh wave of infections.

The Japanese health ministry is calling on people to only buy coronavirus antigen test kits it has approved.