Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan will declare a state of emergency in three more prefectures hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday, in a surprise move reflecting growing concerns about the virus's spread.

Amazon.com Inc is in talks with Japanese power utilities and trading houses to build a renewable power plant in Japan to procure clean energy for its local data centres, the Nikkei reported late on Thursday.

Japan will declare a state of emergency in three more prefectures hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday, in a surprise move reflecting growing concerns about the virus's spread.

(Reuters) -A Myanmar journalist who reported on anti-junta protests has been jailed for three years for incitement, his news organisation said, while authorities on Thursday announced a twice-arrested Japanese reporter would be freed.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese fashion magnate Yusaku Maezawa, already planning a trip around the moon, will first make a visit to the International Space Station this year, TV Tokyo reported on Thursday.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Dozens of Japanese towns have abandoned plans to host Olympic athletes because of concern they will overburden stretched medical resources amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

South Korean fisheries associations filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government at a local court on Thursday, seeking compensation for the planned release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Shares of Seven & i Holdings surged to a two-year high on Thursday after Reuters reported activist investor ValueAct Capital took a stake in the Japanese owner of the 7-Eleven chain, signalling a potential shake-up at the retail giant.

Japan's COVID-19 vaccine chief has blamed a rigid drug approval system for a slow inoculation campaign that is relying on only one approved shot, as a fourth wave of infections raises worries amid preparations for the Summer Olympics.