A record 13 people have been killed by bears so far this year. Canada, the U.S. and several other nations have issued warnings for citizens traveling in Japan.

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.

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.

Firefighters and army helicopters battled a fire that burned through old wooden houses in a fishing town in southwestern Japan.

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

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,

A man in his 70s was unaccounted for and firefighters later found a body, possibly of the missing man, and a woman in her 50s suffered a minor injury, officials said.