An expert panel advising Japan's health ministry says the spread of the coronavirus continues nationwide.

The panel said on Tuesday that the northern island of Hokkaido has seen a clear reduction in new cases, but that is not the case anywhere else in the country.

Japan is coming out of the first weekend in a three-week period the central government has deemed crucial for curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

Several prefectural governments, including Tokyo and Osaka, have requested bars and restaurants serving alcohol to limit their hours.

Tokushima Prefecture in western Japan held drills overnight on Monday based on the scenario that a mega earthquake hit the region amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Japan observes Disaster Prevention Day on September 1 every year to remember the Great Kanto Earthquake which struck Tokyo in 1923.

Experts advising Japan's government on the coronavirus plan to set up a series of indexes to help local authorities gauge the spread of the outbreak in their regions.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said on Thursday that unlike in April, it is not currently necessary to declare a state of emergency.

Experts say the situation of coronavirus infections in Tokyo is serious as the virus has spread to all generations and through diverse routes.

The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday held a meeting with the infectious disease experts to assess the situation. They agreed to maintain the highest level of alert on the four-tier scale for the capital for the third week in a row.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Wednesday called on people to continue their efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, two weeks after his declaration of a state of emergency.

Abe was speaking at a meeting of the government's coronavirus task force.

In Japan, more people are being asked to take steps to slow down a surge in coronavirus infections.

People in Tokyo are adjusting to a sudden lifestyle shift as the number of cases there topped 2,000.

A group of experts says Tokyo could prevent an explosive spread of the new coronavirus by reducing person-to-person contact by 80 percent. The group advises authorities to immediately take appropriate measures.

The projection was conducted by a group that includes Professor Nishiura Hiroshi of Hokkaido University, a member of a government taskforce on cluster infections.

NHK has learned that a government expert panel has approved a report that says sustained transmission of the coronavirus is likely to occur in Japan.

Tokyo confirmed 41 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the nationwide total to over 1,300.

Japan has reported 26 new coronavirus infections linked to cruise ships on the River Nile. The health ministry says the cases were confirmed between March 5 and 15.

Among them are Japanese tourists who recently returned from cruise holidays as well as family members and other people with whom they have been in contact.

Theme parks in Japan featuring Hello Kitty and other characters will close temporarily in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Sanrio announced an indoor theme park in suburban Tokyo called Sanrio Puroland and an outdoor theme park in the Kyushu region called Harmonyland will be closed from February 22 to March 12. Both facilities are operated by a Sanrio subsidiary and are popular among tourists who are fans of the famous characters.

Japanese health experts say the new coronavirus continued to spread on the cruise ship Diamond Princess even after the passengers were told to stay in their cabins as a quarantine measure.

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases reported this on its English website on Wednesday.

New cases of the coronavirus in Japan have been confirmed, bringing the total to over 330, including 285 on a cruise ship offshore.

Health authorities are working quickly to come up with effective measures to contain the spread after they found it hard to track down the infection routes of some cases.

The rash of new cases has the Japanese government scrambling to make sure the virus doesn't spread any further.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, " We're setting up an expert panel consisting of front-line specialists on infectious diseases to strengthen measures."