The Saturday editions of all national dailies wrote that Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said on Friday that it has filed a request with the Health Ministry for the approval of its production and distribution in Japan of U.S. biotechnology company Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. This is the third application for regulatory approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in Japan, following U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Britain’s AstraZeneca. The ministry is expected to make a decision in May or later.

In a related development, this morning’s Nikkei, Mainichi, and Sankei wrote that Health Minister Tamura said on Sunday that his ministry could approve a second COVID-19 vaccine as early as May or June following Pfizer’s.