Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has said the metropolitan government is getting ready for the prime minister's possible declaration of a state of emergency over the coronavirus.

Koike made the comment to reporters on Monday as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo began final arrangements to make a declaration as early as Tuesday.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says Japan has yet to reach a point where a declaration of a state of emergency is necessary to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Abe spoke at an Upper House committee meeting on Wednesday about a recently revised law that would allow him to declare a state of emergency to fight the pandemic. He said he will decide whether to issue such a declaration by putting priority on protecting the lives and health of the public.

Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido is to lift a state of emergency declared last month in response to the new coronavirus outbreak there.

Governor Naomichi Suzuki told reporters on Wednesday that the three-week emergency period will expire on the following day as planned. He announced the declaration on February 28.

The widow of an ex-finance ministry official, who committed suicide after he was forced to falsify ministry documents, has filed a lawsuit. She is demanding damages from the government and former chief of the ministry's financial bureau, Nobuhisa Sagawa, who allegedly instructed her husband to falsify the documents.

The suit was filed with a court in Osaka, western Japan, on Wednesday, seeking about 110 million yen, or over 1 million dollars.

Japan's lawmakers are deliberating a bill that would allow the prime minister to declare a state of emergency to tackle the coronavirus. It has passed one stage in the approval process.

The minister in charge of the legislation, Yasutoshi Nishimura, was asked in a Diet committee whether the government plans to declare an emergency soon.

Japan and China have agreed to postpone Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Japan due to the coronavirus outbreak. Xi had been scheduled to arrive in Japan in early April.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in Tokyo on Thursday that Japan and Beijing will reschedule the visit.

Japan's government is ramping up its battle against the coronavirus. The prime minister wants opposition leaders to back plans allowing him to declare a state of emergency should that become necessary.

This comes as the number of infections reported in the nation climbs above 1,000... including over 700 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The governor of Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has declared a state of emergency in response to the high number of people infected with the new coronavirus there.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Naomichi Suzuki also called on local residents to refrain from going out this weekend.

Japan's health ministry says eight of the people confirmed infected with the new coronavirus onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship are in serious condition. The ship is quarantined at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo.

The ministry says two other people are also in serious condition. One of them has not been confirmed to be infected, while the other is waiting for the result of a virus test.