The rash of new cases has the Japanese government scrambling to make sure the virus doesn't spread any further.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, " We're setting up an expert panel consisting of front-line specialists on infectious diseases to strengthen measures."

All 199 evacuees quarantined following their return from China on the second government chartered flight have been confirmed to be free of the new coronavirus. They returned home on Friday.

The people had been evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, on January 30. At the time, they showed no symptoms and tested negative for the virus. As a precaution, they were placed under quarantine at facilities in Wako City, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo.

Organizers of the Tokyo Marathon are asking registered runners residing in China to refrain from joining in this year's event due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

A total of around 38,000 runners are expected to participate in the full marathon or in the 10-kilometer race on March 1. About 1,800 of them are living in China.

Relatives of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have strongly urged the Japanese government to take measures to repatriate their loved ones as soon as possible.

The relatives, including Shigeo Iizuka and Akihiro Arimoto, met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Friday.

A film about Japanese people abducted by North Korea and the abductees' family members is set to be produced.

The film will deal with the abductees who have not returned to Japan. Megumi Yokota is one. She was abducted when she was a junior high school student.

Japan's health minister Katsunobu Kato says his ministry is working to identify the infection routes of the new coronavirus after the first virus-related death in the country on Thursday.

Kato told reporters on Friday that people must be concerned about becoming infected.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says the government will quickly obtain necessary epidemiological data about the new coronavirus, including its infection path.

Suga was asked by reporters about the state of an epidemic on Friday. He said a sufficient amount of epidemiological data has yet to be collected. That would enable officials to determine whether the coronavirus has become an epidemic in Japan.

Japan's Cabinet has approved a package to fund most of an emergency plan to tackle the outbreak of the new coronavirus. The spending totals 10.3 billion yen, or 93.8 million dollars. The total plan is worth about 140 million dollars.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters on Friday that the government wants to implement "firm and urgent countermeasures to stop the further spread of the virus." He also said it wants to promote urgent support plans for affected industries.

A man in his 70s has been confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. He was temporarily admitted to the same hospital where a surgeon tested positive for the virus on Thursday.

Prefectural officials say in-house infection is unlikely.

A Japanese doctor who treated two patients infected with the new coronavirus says as there is no cure for the disease he provided them with proper nourishment and rest, and then waited for their recovery.

Tsunehiro Shimizu, Director of the infectious diseases department at Kyoto City Hospital, treated a female student in her 20s who had returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, her hometown, and a Chinese man in his 20s who attended to tourists at a shop in Kyoto, western Japan.

Japan's health ministry has confirmed that a woman infected with the new coronavirus has died. She was in her 80s and lived in Kanagawa prefecture, located just outside Tokyo. Her death marks the first virus-related death in the country.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato said: "She exhibited symptoms on January 22 and was admitted to a hospital in Kanagawa on February 1. She was declared dead today. After that, tests confirmed that she had contracted the new coronavirus."

Japan's health ministry says eight of the people confirmed infected with the new coronavirus onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship are in serious condition. The ship is quarantined at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo.

The ministry says two other people are also in serious condition. One of them has not been confirmed to be infected, while the other is waiting for the result of a virus test.

Japan's transport ministry says it has finished test flights above central Tokyo on new routes to the capital's Haneda Airport.

The new flight paths are due to open on March 29 to increase international slots at Haneda ahead of this year's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed the government's commitment to contain the spread of the new coronavirus and prevent patients from developing serious symptoms through the emergency plan announced on Thursday.

The package aims to step up cooperation with local municipalities, and increase the capability of virus tests and treatment.