The governor of Aichi Prefecture in central Japan has appealed to the public to cooperate with emergency measures now that the prefecture is covered by the central government's state of emergency declaration.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for seven additional prefectures, including Aichi, through February 7.

The Japanese government is stepping up coronavirus countermeasures for people entering the country.

Starting Thursday, all people entering Japan will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival and keep location data on their devices amid a rapid surge of infections in the country.

The Japanese government will suspend the entry of all foreigners in principle, starting on Thursday, as the coronavirus keeps spreading around the world.

The government had continued to allow businesspeople to enter Japan from 10 Asian countries, including China and South Korea, plus Taiwan, after variants of the virus, which are believed to be highly transmissible, were detected in some countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has urged people to reduce social contact as much as possible to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

He made the request at a news conference on Wednesday after expanding the state of emergency to seven more prefectures earlier in the day.

Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has declared a state of emergency for seven more prefectures, to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The declaration was made at a government taskforce meeting on Wednesday evening.

Japan is adding seven prefectures, including Osaka and Kyoto, to its state of emergency as coronavirus infections rise.

The Japanese government plans to suspend the entry of all foreigners as the coronavirus continues to spread around the world.

Japan halted all new arrivals of non-nationals last month after new strains of the coronavirus that are believed to be highly transmissible were confirmed in the UK and elsewhere.

Four Chinese government ships temporarily entered Japan's territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Wednesday. The territorial intrusion is the first by official Chinese vessels in the area this year.

The Japan Coast Guard says the ships entered the waters off Uotsuri Island one after another from around 10:40 a.m. The vessels all exited Japanese waters by 0:30 p.m.

Japanese government officials plan to suspend an exemption that allows the entry of businesspeople from 10 countries and Taiwan, effectively banning all foreign travelers.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials confirmed 1,433 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Wednesday.

The figure is the second-highest for a Wednesday, behind 1,591 a week ago.

The Japanese government is set to expand its state of emergency to seven more prefectures amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is expected to hold a news conference Wednesday evening to ask for the public's cooperation.

The seven additional prefectures are Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Gifu, Fukuoka, and Tochigi. The declaration currently covers Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, and was put in place last Friday.

Japan has begun asking all international travelers to the country to certify that they've tested negative for the coronavirus within 72 hours of their departure from abroad.

The measure took effect on Wednesday following a declaration of a state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures last week.

Tokyo police have arrested a former employee of mobile carrier SoftBank for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to 5G wireless technology from the company.

Police arrested 45-year-old Aiba Kuniaki on Tuesday on suspicion of violating a law to prevent unfair competition.

An opinion poll conducted by NHK earlier this month shows only 16 percent favor holding the postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as scheduled. This contrasts sharply with the close to 80 percent who say the Games should be canceled or postponed again.

NHK carried out the survey over the weekend by telephoning people aged 18 and older chosen at random. A total of 1,278 people, or 59 percent of those contacted, provided responses.