Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide says Japan is monitoring the situation in Kaesong.

He said his government is working closely with the United States and South Korea to gather and analyze information on the incident.

Japan will carefully explore the possibility of declaring a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, with the growth in new cases and the economic implications in mind.

On Monday, a member of a government advisory panel revealed that a majority of the members are in favor of making a declaration. He said many believe that it will be too late for the country to do so after seeing an explosive increase in cases.

Experts say there's no need to be overly alarmed by the first confirmed case of a new coronavirus infection in Japan. But they also call for vigilance.

Nobuhiko Okabe, head of the Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health, says it's clear where the patient was infected as he had visited Wuhan. He also says human-to-human transmission has been very limited so far.