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North Korea launches a suspected ballistic missile towards Japan with the Japanese government warning residents in Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures to immediately seek shelter. It later landed in the Pacific. The launch comes after a series of balloon launches and placard protests from South Korea and various military exercises involving the US.
2022-10-3

The Japanese government announces the extension of its state of emergency in 19 prefectures until September 30 with Miyagi and Okayama prefectures being downgraded to a quasi-state of emergency after the expiry of their current orders on September 12.
2021-09-9

Japanese health minister Norihisa Tamura says that the country has entered an "extremely frightening" stage of the pandemic as the number of cases increases in Tokyo. The government also extends the state of emergency in the capital and expands it to three surrounding prefectures and the city of Osaka from August 2 to August 31.
2021-07-30

South Korea summons the Japanese ambassador following remarks by a Japanese senior official mocking South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Moon had hinted at a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, to which the official responded that it was not a possibility and that Moon was "masturbating". South Korea states that the remarks were highly inappropriate, but the Government of Japan said that the remarks were not directed at Moon.
2021-07-17

The government approves the use of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15, becoming the first vaccine to be approved used for children in Japan.
2021-05-31

Japan's Ministry of Health officially approves the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine, three days after a government panel recommends its approval. This is the first government-approved vaccine in the country.
2021-02-14

The government expands the state of emergency to seven prefectures, including Aichi, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Kyoto, as the country surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19.
2021-01-13

The government of Japan approves a bill which officially acknowledges the Ainu as an indigenous people, following a non-binding resolution that was passed in 2008.
2019-02-15

The Government of Japan summons the ambassador from the People's Republic of China after a flotilla of Chinese ships sail near the dispute Senkaku Islands.
2013-04-23

22,000 residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa file suit demanding the closure of the Kadena United States Airforce base at night and demand compensation from the Government of Japan.
2011-04-29