Authorities in some prefectures where people are confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus are providing multilingual information services for foreigners visiting or living in Japan.

Okinawa Prefecture has set up a round-the-clock hotline serviced by medical professionals who provide information on medical institutions that can handle foreign languages. The service is available in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese and Thai. The phone number is 0570-050-235.

Rare color footage of the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics has been discovered at the home of a former hospital worker.

The video runs 26 minutes and 40 seconds and begins with the athletes' parade. This is followed by footage of wheelchair basketball and swimming and athletes competing in events we no longer see today.

Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono says his ministry regards two projectiles fired by North Korea on Monday as short-range ballistic missiles similar to those the country launched on November 28.

He told reporters on Tuesday that the projectiles were fired within a minute of each other and flew about 240 kilometers at lower trajectories than the scud missiles North Korea possessed in the past.

Japanese doctors say an asthma drug appears to be effective in reducing symptoms of coronavirus patients who developed pneumonia.

A medical team at Ashigarakami hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture treated patients who became ill aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship. They have announced the results of their study on the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases' website.

An ancient Shinto shrine in Kyoto City, western Japan, offered a prayer to its deity on Tuesday, hoping for an end to the new coronavirus outbreak.

Kamigamo Shrine is recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The shrine holds a ritual every year on March 3, the day of the dolls' festival, to pray for health and drive away evil.

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus infections across Japan hit 980 as of 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. They include 706 people from the Diamond Princess cruise ship moored at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo.

The tally is based on data compiled by the health ministry and local governments.

A Japanese official has asked Lebanon's president to cooperate in the case against former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is now in Beirut after skipping bail in Japan.

Japan's State Minister of Justice Hiroyuki Yoshiie spoke with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun and Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm in Beirut on Monday.

Japan's transport ministry will call on the operators of bullet train services to make their carriages more accessible for people using wheelchairs.

The ministry has decided to revise guidelines for public transportation, following discussions by a panel of officials from railway companies and advocacy groups for people with disabilities.

Japan's government says it will pay up to about 80 dollars per person per day to businesses as income compensation for parents taking leave from work in response to temporary school closures that began nationwide.

The health and labor ministry on Monday revealed the details of a new subsidy system as the government strives to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The closure of schools across Japan to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading has made childcare facilities busier.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested local governments to temporarily close schools from Monday until the start of the spring break in late March.

Health experts in Japan continue to refine the advice they offer in response to the coronavirus outbreak. They're now urging people, especially younger generations, to be on the alert even if they don't show major symptoms.

Japan Community Healthcare Organization President Shigeru Omi said, " We have come to believe that people with mild symptoms play an important role in spreading the virus without knowing it. In particular, young people are unlikely to become seriously ill, making it very difficult to see the danger they may pose to others. As a result, they infect many middle aged and elderly people, putting them at risk."

A team of experts says people with mild symptoms are thought to be unwittingly spreading the new coronavirus in Japan and should avoid crowded places where ventilation is poor.

On Monday, an expert team of a government task force on the Covid-19 outbreak published its views of the current situation and what measures to take.

Test runs on a section of railway line along the Pacific coast of Fukushima Prefecture have started nine years after service was halted by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

The accident caused radioactive contamination and suspended service on the 21-kilometer-section of Japan Rail's Joban Line between Namie and Tomioka stations.

Japan's health ministry has drafted a plan to provide daycare for children whose schools have been asked to close to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The plan was compiled after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested the temporary closure of all schools from Monday.