A man in his 80s who was infected with the new coronavirus died on Thursday in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Fifteen new cases of infection were reported there on the day.

Hokkaido's governor said the man who died had pre-existing conditions.

The Lower House of Japan's Diet has rejected a no-confidence motion against the justice minister and a motion to dismiss the chair of the Budget Committee.

The moves come as wrangling between the ruling and opposition camps over passing the fiscal 2020 budget bill through the chamber reaches its final stage.

Amid growing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, some religious facilities in Tokyo are now halting their public services.

A mosque located in the Akihabara district has decided to suspend its Friday prayers until next week.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will ask all elementary and high schools across the country to temporarily close beginning Monday.

The development comes after a man in his 80s who was infected with the new coronavirus died in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. Fifteen new cases of infection were reported there on Thursday.

A growing number of countries and regions have banned the entry of travelers from Japan or imposed some restrictions as the new coronavirus continues to spread.

Japan's foreign ministry says that as of Wednesday, Micronesia, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, and Comoros had restricted the entry of travelers from all countries and territories affected by the virus.

Japan's top government spokesperson says the supply of face masks will increase to more than 600 million per month from March amid a severe shortage across the country.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Thursday that the government is working to resolve the shortage as soon as possible while closely monitoring mask production and distribution.

Crew members aboard the quarantined ship docked near Tokyo began disembarking Thursday. Those without symptoms will be quarantined and undergo medical checkups for 14 days.

It will take about 3 days for the approximately 240 crew members to disembark. Most of them are non-Japanese. They will leave Japan after the two-week period if they test negative.

Crew members aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked near Tokyo finally began disembarking on Thursday.

Those without symptoms will be quarantined and undergo medical checkups for 14 days.

The Japanese government is studying additional measures to prop up the tourist industry and smaller businesses hit hard by the coronavirus scare.

Officials have already come up with a 140-million dollar package to fight the outbreak.

Japan's foreign minister says China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi will likely visit Japan starting on Friday. Toshimitsu Motegi suggested that Yang will discuss President Xi Jinping's visit to Japan scheduled for April.

Motegi was speaking to his ruling party colleagues on Thursday about his phone talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the previous night.

Japanese transportation officials say that a defective installation of a cable led to an accident involving a driverless train that went in the wrong direction.

The Japan Transport Safety Board on Thursday released intermediate findings from its investigation into last year's incident on the Yokohama Seaside Line in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Seventeen passengers were injured and the operator later found a broken circuit linked to the directional control system.

Japanese lawmakers have formed a nonpartisan group to push for the introduction of hospital ships that can provide medical care in the event of a major disaster or an infectious outbreak such as the new coronavirus.

Diet members of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and others held an inaugural meeting on Thursday.

Japan's health ministry says crew members who tested negative for the new coronavirus have begun disembarking from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo.

The crew members were transferred to a government-designated facility in Saitama Prefecture on Thursday. Officials say it will take several days before all 240 crew members leave the ship.

More than a third of the calls by cruise ships at Tokyo Port scheduled for this March to December have been canceled amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus in Japan.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says shipping companies have cancelled 13 of 36 such calls.