The Japanese government has begun making arrangements to bar foreign nationals from southern areas of South Korea from entering Japan, in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.

The measure would block the entry of foreign citizens who have stayed in Daegu City and Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province within 14 days of their arrival in Japan, unless they have special reasons.

A Japanese medical university has published an online handbook that explains how people can protect themselves from the new coronavirus.

Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Professor Mitsuo Kaku, an expert on infectious diseases, heads the group that compiled the handbook.

Japan's health ministry has set up a team of experts to tackle clusters of the new coronavirus.

The ministry says that clusters, or groups of people infected with the virus, may have occurred in some parts of Japan, including Tokyo and Wakayama.

The total number of confirmed infections with the new coronavirus in Japan stands at 862.

Of these, 157 are people infected in Japan or tourists from China and elsewhere.

The total number of confirmed infections with the new coronavirus in Japan stands at 861.

Of these,156 are people infected in Japan or tourists from China and elsewhere.

Major Japanese advertising agency Dentsu has told some 5,000 staff to start working from home after it confirmed an employee has been infected with the new coronavirus.

Dentsu says a male worker in his 50s at its headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward was confirmed to have contracted the virus on Monday.

The Japanese government and the Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the plunge in Tokyo stocks, caused by anxiety about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.

The meeting brought together senior officials from the BOJ, the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency.

Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono says a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer will start operating in the Middle East as soon as Wednesday.

The government dispatched the destroyer Takanami and aircraft to the Middle East for an intelligence gathering operation to safeguard commercial ships with links to Japan. The Takanami left the Yokosuka base, near Tokyo, on February 2.

The Japanese government says it has developed technology that can determine whether a person has the new coronavirus in just 15 minutes.

The device is made by a Japanese pharmaceutical company. A government official says the virus can be detected with new technology developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

Japan's health minister stressed that now is a crucial time to control the spread of the new coronavirus in the country, and appealed for the public's cooperation.

Katsunobu Kato spoke to reporters on Tuesday following the government's endorsement of a basic policy for measures against the virus outbreak.

Japan's health minister says 28 passengers have developed fevers or other symptoms after disembarking from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Katsunobu Kato said at a Diet committee meeting on Tuesday that the passengers are among those who have responded to his ministry's follow-up surveys.

Japan's government has decided on a basic policy for measures to protect against a domestic outbreak of the new coronavirus. It includes asking people with minor symptoms to recuperate at home, in order to secure adequate care at medical facilities for those who are seriously ill.

The government's task force on the new coronavirus met on Tuesday at the prime minister's office.

The Japanese government has unveiled its new strategy to deal with the growing coronavirus outbreak. Major measures include telecommuting, working staggered hours, and accepting patients at general hospitals in areas of high infection.

Members of the government's task force decided on the new policy at their meeting at the prime minister's office.

The total number of confirmed infections with the new coronavirus in Japan stands at 851.

Of these,146 are people infected in Japan or tourists from China and elsewhere.