Japan's labor ministry says more than 60,000 people in the country have lost or are about to lose their jobs because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The ministry has been checking for cases of workers who have been fired or have not had their contracts renewed because their employers are struggling with poor sales.

Two major Japanese railway operators expect their net losses this fiscal year to be their biggest since they came into being following state rail privatization. The firms attribute the losses to the coronavirus outbreak.

East Japan Railway Company on Wednesday published its business projections for fiscal 2020 ending next March. The firm expects to post 3.98 billion dollars in losses.

Nissan has raised $8 billion in a non-convertible dollar bond sale in one of the biggest ever deals of its kind in Asia.

The Japanese labor ministry says non-regular workers account for about 60 percent of people who have recently lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry says 4,210 people were let go or had their contracts terminated, or were expected to lose their jobs in the week through last Friday.