One of Japan's largest travel agencies has begun helping companies and local governments find accommodation for people who need to self-isolate because of the coronavirus.
JTB says it has launched the service because some companies are having difficulty finding places for their employees to self-quarantine after returning from overseas assignments.
Japan has recorded 8,730 coronavirus cases as of Thursday. That figure includes people determined to be positive during airport quarantine checks, health ministry officials, and individuals who returned to Japan on chartered planes.
Eight new cases were confirmed on Thursday morning. The total comes to 9,442, when the 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship are included.
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan exceeded 8,700 as of Wednesday. The figure includes people found positive in airport quarantine checks, health ministry officials and those who returned to Japan on chartered planes.
A total of 549 new cases, including 127 in Tokyo, were reported, bringing the total to 8,722.
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan has exceeded 8,600 as of Wednesday night. The figure includes people found positive in airport quarantine checks, health ministry officials and those who returned to Japan on chartered planes.
467 new cases, including 127 in Tokyo, were reported, bringing the total to 8,640.
Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has asked companies that make medical supplies to increase production to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Abe spoke with senior corporate officials in a teleconference on Wednesday.
The coronavirus pandemic sharply decreased the number of foreigners visiting Japan last month.
Japanese tourism officials say the figure for March was 193,700, down 93 percent from a year earlier.
A team of experts in Japan says more than 400,000 people would die from the new coronavirus nationwide if no measures are taken to contain infections.
The health ministry set up the team to help halt the spread of the virus. They reported their estimate on Wednesday.
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan has exceeded 8,200 as of Wednesday morning. The figure includes people found positive in airport quarantine checks, health ministry officials and those who returned to Japan on chartered planes.
As of 11:30 a.m., 30 new cases, including 18 in Hiroshima Prefecture, were reported, bringing the total to 8,203.
Japan's Immigration Services Agency says the number of foreigners who entered the country in March fell by more than 90 percent from the same month last year, due largely to refused entries attributed to the coronavirus.
Preliminary data from the agency shows that 152,162 foreigners arrived in Japan. That number excludes people who were given permission to re-enter. The figure was 2,504,193 in March, 2019.
About a month has passed since European countries began lockdowns to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. They are now divided over whether to ease or continue their approach.
On Tuesday, Austria partially eased its lockdown and other strict measures that had been in place since last month. Some shops in Vienna, including clothing shops, reopened for the first time in a month. Pedestrian traffic appears to be gradually increasing.
Weather officials in Japan say the country had an abnormally warm winter this year, with a record-high national average temperature and record-low snowfalls in some areas.
The Japan Meteorological Agency convened an expert panel to analyze winter weather conditions between December and February.
Japan's government is will call on companies to help address the shortage of masks and other medical supplies designed to protect medical professionals treating coronavirus patients .
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo will make the call at a teleconference on Wednesday with medical product makers and firms interested in starting to produce such items. He is to ask for the increased production of face masks, sanitizers, ventilators and other products.
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan has exceeded 8,100 as of Tuesday. The figure includes people found positive in airport quarantine checks, health ministry officials and those who returned to Japan on chartered planes.
482 new cases were reported across the country, bringing the total to 8,173.
NHK has learned that nine of Japan's 47 prefectures have almost run out of hospital beds to treat coronavirus patients.
NHK asked prefectural governments and other entities about the number of beds they have secured and how many are occupied.