The Japan Tourism Agency says the number of foreign visitors who stayed at hotels and inns in Japan in March plunged 85.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.18 million.
Agency officials say it was the sharpest fall ever, topping an 81.3-percent fall in April 2011, just after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan.
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.
Japan's labor ministry says job placement centers will offer counseling to foreign workers to prevent unfair treatment by employers hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ministry plans to deploy 40 counselors at job placement centers in areas with large numbers of foreign residents. The counselors will handle complaints from foreign workers and give advice to their employers.
A nonprofit group is offering telephone consultations for foreign workers in Japan whose livelihoods are at risk due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"Posse" provided consultations in English and Japanese on Sunday afternoon.
Foreign residents in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo are turning to a medical facility offering service in six languages for help amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Staff at the Kobayashi International Clinic in Yamato City can respond to patients in six languages, including English, Korean and Tagalog.
Foreign media are expressing doubts and concerns over the Japanese government's treatment of people who are disembarking the coronavirus- hit cruise ship. Japan is allowing those people to use public transportation and to return to their homes.
People started leaving the ship on Wednesday and will continue to disembark on Thursday and Friday.
Foreign visitor numbers to Japan have fallen again for a fourth straight month. Figures for January show a steep decline in tourists from South Korea.
Tourism operators are also preparing for the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. That's expected to hit the industry from February onwards.
The Japan National Tourism Organization is offering phone consultation services for foreign tourists who are concerned about the new strain of coronavirus.
The Japan Visitor Hotline offers 24-hour services in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.
The Japan Tourism Agency has made video clips showing manners and customs of the country amid the rise in the number of foreign travelers.
The ten one-minute videos seek to cope with a phenomenon known as "over-tourism," which causes tensions between visitors and residents.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has reiterated a goal of welcoming 40 million visitors by the end of the year.
Suga addressed a government panel Wednesday at the prime minister's office to promote a tourism strategy.