Taiwan President Lai Ching-te showed his support for Japan on Thursday with a lunch of Japanese-sourced sushi, after China indicated it would ban all imports of the country's seafood in an escalating dispute over the Chinese-claimed island.

Residents in the northern region of Akita are living in fear after dozens of assaults on humans. Riot police and the army have been sent to help.

Tension between Japan and China has escalated over the new Japanese leader's suggestion Tokyo could intervene militarily if Beijing attacks Taiwan.

An off-the-cuff remark by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that triggered Japan's biggest bust-up in years with powerful neighbour China was not meant to signal a new hardline stance.

A Tokyo Electric Power Co. employee mishandled confidential security documents at Japan’s biggest nuclear power plant, according to the nation’s atomic watchdog, in the latest security breach to affect a facility that’s close to getting approval to restart.

Bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially in municipalities close to or adjacent to populated zones,” the U.S. Embassy said in a wildlife alert.

Firefighters and army helicopters are battling a fire that has burned through a neighborhood in southwestern Japan and forced more than 170 people to evacuate.

Japan's government is in the final stages of assembling a stimulus package worth 21.3 trillion yen ($135.38 billion) to help households cope with persistent inflation, a draft seen by Reuters showed,