Police in central Japan plan to question a man infected with the new coronavirus who visited a restaurant after the health authorities told him to stay at home.

City officials in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, say the man's infection was confirmed on March 4, but he went to the restaurant later the same day. The staff notified health officials because the man, who is in his 50s, said he had the coronavirus.

Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori has apologized for controversial remarks she made during Monday's Diet session, and says she wants to continue in her post.

Mori said that prosecutors fled Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture before the public when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011.

A survey by Japanese doctors shows a majority of patients who underwent therapy with a heart-lung machine are recovering from serious conditions caused by the new coronavirus.

The survey shows at least 23 coronavirus patients across Japan had received the treatment involving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as ECMO.

Japan will boost its efforts to persuade 20 foreign governments to lift or ease food import restrictions on Japanese products. The measures were prompted by concern over radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident nine years ago.

The 20 are among the 54 governments that imposed bans or other restrictions after the disaster that followed a major earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

The number of coronavirus infections in Japan increased to 676 on Thursday with 56 new cases confirmed. The data was compiled by local governments and the health ministry.

In addition, 697 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.

The Lower House of Japan's Diet has passed a bill to enable the prime minister to declare a state of emergency to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The legislation won the approval at a plenary session of the Lower House on Thursday with a majority vote from the governing Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner Komeito, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, and others. The bill was then sent to the Upper House for a final Diet endorsement.

A Japanese woman who has the coronavirus has told NHK that she initially thought she had caught a cold and didn't suspect her symptoms were caused by the virus.

The woman in her 20s is being treated at a hospital. She was found to be infected on Thursday last week.

A high court in Japan has found a man guilty of sexually abusing his biological daughter, reversing a lower court acquittal that triggered a wave of protests.

The Nagoya High Court on Thursday sentenced the father to 10 years in prison as sought by prosecutors.

Japanese government officials are preparing to send out over 2.5 million face masks from their stockpiles to medical and other facilities facing a serious shortage due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The government decided to release the masks out of some 6.4 million kept at ministries and agencies in case of disasters or other emergencies.

The number of coronavirus infections in Japan increased to 627 as of 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, after seven more cases were reported earlier in the day. The data was compiled by local governments and the health ministry.

In addition to this figure, 696 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.

The number of coronavirus infections in Japan increased to 624 as of 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, after four more cases were reported earlier in the day. The data was compiled by local governments and the health ministry.

In addition to this figure, 696 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.

With the WHO designating the outbreak as a pandemic, Japan's prime minister says his country will do all it can to fight the virus.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: "I think the WHO has made its decision based on the fact that the infection continues to spread globally. Japan will cooperate with the international community more than ever and strengthen measures to tackle the issue."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan will step up cooperation with the international community to fight the coronavirus, now that the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic.

Abe told reporters on Thursday morning the declaration is a response to the ongoing spread of the virus around the world.

Japan's government is strengthening its information sharing with authorities overseas to ease concerns over the domestic status on the spread of the new coronavirus.

An increasing number of foreign governments have started restricting entry of people from Japan. As of Wednesday morning, 29 countries and territories had taken such a measure, including China, South Korea, India and Israel.