A Japanese industry group that manages the Kobe beef brand has expressed sadness about the death of US basketball star Kobe Bryant, whose name is said to come from the famous meat product.

Tetsunori Tanimoto of the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association said he was shocked to hear Bryant had been killed in a helicopter accident.

A Japanese expert says infection control and prevention will be difficult for the new coronavirus linked to a pneumonia outbreak in China.

Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Professor Mitsuo Kaku says infections may occur when people have no apparent symptoms. He warns that the number of patients may rise in Japan as well.

A Japanese group of researchers says it has conducted heart surgery using sheets of heart muscle cells made from iPS cells.

Induced pluripotent stem cells are created from reprogrammed human cells and can develop into various kinds of body tissue.

The operator of the Ikata nuclear power plant in western Japan says it will place top priority on determining what caused a series of serious problems at the plant.

Shikoku Electric Power Company President Keisuke Nagai apologized to Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura for the problems on Monday.

Companies are preparing to bring home employees and their families from Wuhan, a Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Japan External Trade Organization says about 160 Japanese firms are operating in and around the city.

Japan's communications ministry plans to require key mobile phone base stations to have at least 24 hours of backup power.

The move comes after a series of powerful typhoons caused prolonged disruption to mobile communications last year.

Japanese travel agencies are busy responding to China's suspension of overseas group tours aimed at containing the spread of the deadly new strain of coronavirus.

Tokyo-based travel agency Kamome Tourist handles package tours for Chinese travelers.

Japan's Defense Ministry plans to submit a bill to the current session of the Diet to establish a space unit.

The ministry is considering creating the new unit and increasing the number of personnel starting this April to beef up its defense capabilities in the realms of outer space and cyberspace.

Health authorities in China say 81 people in the country have died from pneumonia after infected with the new coronavirus. More than 2,700 others have been confirmed to be infected.

Experts are warning that those carrying the virus could be spreading it to others during the incubation period before their own symptoms appear. That's making it extremely difficult to contain the outbreak.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his government plans to add infections of the new coronavirus to the list of designated infectious diseases.

Abe told a Lower House committee on Monday that his government has instructed relevant ministers to do all they can to prevent the virus from spreading in Japan.

Japan is scrambling to make arrangements for citizens seeking to get out of Wuhan, a Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak.

Officials want workers to notify the government of their plans to stay or go.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he plans to add the new coronavirus to the list of designated infectious diseases.

Abe was speaking to a Lower House committee on Monday.

Nikkei index has been tumbling due to concerns about the impact of the new coronavirus.

The key gauge lost about 500 points, or more than 2 percent at one stage on Monday morning.

A Japanese medical trainee says he heard that health care workers in Wuhan may have been infected with the new strain of coronavirus weeks before the media reported about it. He made the comment during a telephone interview with NHK.

The man in his twenties graduated from a university in China and trained at a hospital in Wuhan until around January 10.