Japan

Tetsushi Sakamoto was appointed "Minister for Loneliness" by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga earlier in February after Japan saw the first rise in suicides in 11 years in 2020. 20,919 people committed suicide in Japan in 2020, 750 more than in 2019. A department will further investigate the impact of the "many kinds of loneliness".

Japan has issued a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding areas - Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba. Schools, gyms, cinemas and theatres will be allowed to remain open under certain restrictions. Restaurants will have to shorten their opening hours or be "named and shamed" by the government. The state of emergency will end of February 7th.

Japan is considering declaring a state of emergency as numbers of Coronavirus cases rise. It would apply to Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa. In his new year's speech, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga already hinted at measures to keep the virus from spreading. Japan reported 4520 new cases on December 31st and 3158 on January 3rd.

Takahiro Shiraishi, who admitted to the murder of nine people he had befriended on Twitter, has been sentenced to death in Japan. Shiraishi strangled and dismembered eight women and one man over the course of three months. All of his victims had expressed suicidal thoughts prior to their death on Twitter, but "none of the nine victims consented to be killed, including by silent consent" so the the judge, Naokuni Yano, found.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has approved a new regulation for taxi operators, which states that they can refuse passengers who are not wearing masks. Drivers are required to ask customers why they do not wear masks when they board and check to see if there are any unavoidable circumstances, such as illness. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism explains the reason for the approval, saying, "This is not only for the driver but also to prevent the next passenger from becoming infected".

Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary of Shinzo Abe administration, was voted to be the leade of the Liberal Democratic Party, the governing party of Japan. Suga is considered to be a close ally of Abe.

There will be another vote Wednesday in parliament, where Suga is almost certain to be made prime minister because of his party majority.

Taking over mid-term, Mr Suga is expected to finish the rest of the current period, until elections in September 2021.

Japan's longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe has resigned due to his health. He suffers from the bowel disease colitis. He will stay in office until his successor is chosen.

Abe gave a press conferences on Friday. He said: "Even though there is one year to go in my tenure and there are challenges to be met, I have decided to stand down as prime minister."

About his illness, he said: "For almost eight years I controlled my chronic disease, however, this year in June I had a regular check-up and there was a sign of the disease. I made a judgment that I should not continue my job as prime minister. I need to fight the disease and need to be treated."

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is said to be stepping down due to his declining health. The news was first announced by Japan's national broadcaster NHK. It was later confirmed by a ruling party member. Abe has been serving as prime minister for almost eight years.

The number of newly reported Covid-19 cases has reached 1,259 across the country. With that Japan has crossed 1,000 new infections on a single day for the first time. The total number of confirmed cases in Japan is 34,215 including people in quarantine at airports as well as passengers and crew members on cruise ships.

All 47 prefectures in Japan have now reported Covid-19 cases.