A Japanese man who was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing 19 intellectually disabled people says he will abide by the ruling.

The Yokohama District Court on Monday sentenced Satoshi Uematsu to death for the murders at a care home in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, in 2016. Uematsu worked at the facility before the murders.

Japan's education minister says the government plans to announce standards on reopening schools by the end of March.

Koichi Hagiuda spoke to reporters on Tuesday about standards that municipalities across the country can refer to when deciding the timing to resume classes.

Japan's Environment Ministry says waste produced by decontamination work following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident could leak at 12 locations in case of torrential rain.

The ministry checked all the sites where the waste is kept after 91 bags were swept into rivers in Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures last year due to downpours caused by Typhoon Hagibis.

NHK has learned that the Japanese government is planning to expand entry restrictions to foreigners from parts of Europe where the new coronavirus infection is rapidly spreading.

The new restrictions will apply to three areas in Spain, including the Madrid region; four areas in Italy, including the northern region of Liguria; the Ticino region of southern Switzerland; and all of Iceland.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a united front against the coronavirus pandemic during a video conference with his Group of Seven peers.

Abe spoke to reporters following the 50-minute conference on Monday.

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.

The number of coronavirus infections in Japan increased to 821 on Monday with 17 new cases confirmed. The data was compiled by local governments and the health ministry.

In addition, 712 people from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been infected, and 14 cases have been confirmed among people who returned from China's Hubei Province on chartered flights.

Japan's education ministry plans to draw up guidelines to provide educational opportunities for all foreign children living in Japan.

Last September, the ministry surveyed over 124,000 foreign children aged between 6 and 14 who are currently registered in local residence records.

Japan's Foreign Ministry is planning to ask citizens to refrain from traveling to almost all parts of Europe in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.

The ministry has already advised people not to visit five regions, mostly in northern Italy, by issuing a Level 3 Travel Advisory and Warning.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will listen to the views of an expert panel before deciding whether to end the temporary closure of schools nationwide and lift a request to avoid holding large-scale events.

Both measures have been taken due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has stressed the need to closely work with other countries to address the impact of the new coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.

After a BOJ policymakers' meeting on Monday, Kuroda told reporters that they convened two days earlier than scheduled because of the need for swift measures that smoothen business operations and stabilize financial markets.

Japan's highest court is likely to rule against Okinawa Prefecture in a lawsuit over a landfill project that is needed for the relocation of a US base there.

The prospect emerged as the Supreme Court's First Petty Bench now says it will issue a ruling on March 26 without holding a hearing. Hearings are needed when the top court reverses lower court rulings.

Policymakers at the Bank of Japan have announced measures to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

The BOJ met on Monday, two days ahead of schedule. The central bank will increase its purchases of exchange-traded funds from the current 6 trillion yen to 12 trillion yen a year, and it will double its acquisition of real estate investment funds to 180 billion yen per year.

Japan's health ministry has released a map showing clusters of coronavirus infections in the country.

The map on the ministry's website shows 15 clusters in 10 prefectures, as of Sunday.