Japan's education and culture ministry has requested the Tokyo District Court to issue an order to dissolve a religious group formerly known as the Unification Church.

The Japanese government is considering giving the Prime Minister's Award to professional shogi player Fujii Sota.

The Japan Meteorological Agency is still unable to pinpoint the scale and focus of an earthquake that occurred on Monday which triggered tsunami of up to 60 centimeters in the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean, south of Tokyo.

Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko has said in a statement that she is "deeply saddened by the large number of deaths and the extensive damage" that was caused by the quakes in western Afghanistan on Saturday.

A developing low-pressure system to the east of Japan is bringing typhoon-level winds and high waves to northern Japan on Friday.

Japanese weather officials are warning that moist air is making atmospheric conditions in northern Japan extremely unstable and triggering heavy rain there.

Scorching heat continues to grip Japan on Monday, pushing temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius in many places.

Local authorities in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan have issued evacuation orders to parts of two cities where heavy rain has increased the risk of landslides.

Severe Tropical Storm Lan has injured at least 26 people in five prefectures across western Japan.

A severe tropical storm is expected to approach Japan's Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific Ocean later this week and the country's main island of Honshu next week.

Scorching weather is expected to prevail in wide regions of Japan on Tuesday, pushing temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius

The city of Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, says it will change the venue for a ceremony to mark the 78th anniversary of the city's atomic bombing on Wednesday due to an approaching severe tropical storm.