A Japanese court has sentenced a man to death for fatally stabbing 19 intellectually disabled people at a care home almost four years ago.

Satoshi Uematsu was found guilty of homicide and other charges. He also injured 26 people with knives in the attack that lasted several hours. The 30-year-old targeted residents of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en home in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, in 2016. Uematsu was a former worker at the facility.

A Japanese court has sentenced a man to death for killing 19 people with intellectual disabilities at a care home in Sagamihara City, near Tokyo, in 2016.

The Yokohama District Court issued the verdict on Monday for 30-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a former worker at the Tsukui Yamayurien home.

A Japanese court has sentenced former care facility worker Satoshi Uematsu to death for killing 19 people with intellectual disabilities in Sagamihara City, near Tokyo, in 2016.

Two cities in Toyama Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast have reopened their public elementary and junior high schools after being closed for two weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

Classes resumed on Monday in the cities of Toyama and Kurobe.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the leaders of the Group of Seven countries will hold a video conference on Monday to discuss how to work together to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Abe told an Upper House committee on Monday that Japan must use its knowledge and cooperate with countries around the world to deal with the challenge.

Japanese health authorities confirmed 31 new coronavirus infections on Sunday. This brings the total count to 804, as of Monday morning.

The figure excludes cases linked to the Diamond Princess cruise ship and 14 cases from government-chartered flights from China. The number of cases from the vessel rose by 15 to 712.

A Japanese court will soon hand down a ruling on the killings of 19 people with intellectual disabilities at a care facility in Sagamihara City, near Tokyo, in 2016.

The Yokohama District Court is scheduled to issue a verdict on Satoshi Uematsu on Monday afternoon. The 30-year-old used to work at the facility, Tsukui Yamayuri-en.

A final group of passengers and crew members who disembarked from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship finished their quarantine on Sunday. They will now be allowed to go home.

All passengers and crew members had left the ship moored at Yokohama Port by March 1.

Japanese health authorities confirmed 31 new cases of infection with the new coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total count to 804.

The figure excludes cases linked to the Diamond Princess cruise ship and 14 cases from government-chartered flights from China. The number of cases from the vessel rose by 15 to 712.

The operator of a nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan will suspend one of its reactors on Monday, as it cannot meet the deadline for building mandatory facilities to deal with emergencies.

Kyushu Electric Power Company began work to reduce output at the No.1 reactor at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture at 2:30 a.m. on Monday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have agreed to work closely together to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

In phone talks on Sunday, Abe briefed Johnson on the situation in Japan and how the government is trying to contain the virus.

Health authorities in Japan reported 63 new cases of coronavirus infection on Saturday -- the highest daily increase excluding those linked to the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

The officials say the number of cases confirmed in the country reached 773 on Saturday.

Officials in western Japan's Mie Prefecture say a man who was a passenger on a cruise ship that was hit by the coronavirus has again tested positive after recovering from infection.

The man, who is in his 70s, first tested positive for the virus on February 14 while he was onboard the Diamond Princess, which was under quarantine off Yokohama.

Japan's ban on the price-gouging resale of face masks came into effect at midnight on Saturday. But manufacturers expect the shortage to continue for some time.

The ban is aimed at preventing the hoarding of masks for resale at inflated prices. The activity is thought to have contributed to mask shortages.