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* Passengers begin disembarking Diamond Princess cruise ship * New infections fall for second day in mainland China * US CDC says Japan's effort not enough * Experts say too early to tell if China outbreak contained Hundreds of people began disembarking a cruise ship quarantined in Japan on Wednesday as criticism mounted of Japan's handling of the sea-borne outbreak where the new coronarvirus appears to have run rife and infected more than 540 people. The death toll from the coronavirus in mainland China passed 2,000 but the number of new cases there fell for a second straight day, offering a sliver of hope and helping Asian shares and US stock futures rise. China, the world's second-largest economy, is struggling to get its manufacturing sector back on track after imposing severe travel restrictions to contain a virus that emerged in the central province of Hubei late last year. In Japan, hundreds of people disembarked from the British-flagged Diamond Princess cruise liner docked at Yokohama near Tokyo, ending an ordeal that began when the ship was quarantined on Feb. 3 after a former passenger was diagnosed with the virus in Hong Kong. "I am very keen to get off this ship," Australian passenger Vicki Presland told Reuters. The outbreak on the liner, owned by Carnival Corp, resulted in the biggest concentration of new coronavirus infections outside China despite more than two weeks of quarantine for its approximately 3,700 passengers and crew on board. As questions swirled over how the virus spread so readily on the ship, Japan's state broadcaster NHK cited Health Minister Katsunobu Kato as defending Japan's efforts. "Unfortunately, cases of infection have emerged, but we have to the extent possible taken appropriate steps to prevent serious cases, including sending infected people to hospital," Kato said. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Japan's efforts might have slowed down the virus but were not enough. "CDC's assessment is that it may not have been sufficient to prevent transmission among individuals on the ship," it said in a statement. Japan has repeatedly said its response to the outbreak on the ship has been appropriate. The United States has flown home more than 300 American evacuees from the ship and other countries are queuing up to collect their citizens, including Australians. The United States, Australia, and other countries, are making their citizens spend 14 days in quarantine upon their return. With Japan just months away from hosting the 2020 Olympic Games, critics say the government's response has seemed more concerned with managing public perception than the outbreak. From the start, experts raised questions about quarantine on the ship. Passengers weren't confined to their rooms until Feb. 5. The day before, as officials screened them, onboard events continued, including dances, quiz games and an exercise class, one passenger said. Only passengers who test negative and do not show symptoms are being allowed to leave the ship. Those who have tested negative but were in cabins with infected people would remain on board for additional quarantine, Japanese officials said. The promising sign out of China came from the National Health Commission, which reported the lowest daily rise in new infections since Jan. 29, or 1,749 new confirmed cases. Hubei - the epicentre of the outbreak - reported the lowest number of new infections since Feb. 11. The latest figures bring the total number of cases in China to more than 74,000 and the death toll to 2,004, three-quarters of which have occurred in Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital. Six people have died outside mainland China, including a new fatality announced on Wednesday in Hong Kong. On top of tough steps taken to isolate Hubei, where the flu-like virus originated in a market illegally selling wildlife, state media reported the province would track down anyone who visited doctors with fever since Jan. 20 or bought over-the-counter cough and fever medication. Chinese officials have said the apparent slowdown in infection rates is evidence that the strict measures are working but global health officials say it is too early to predict how the epidemic will play out. The number of new cases in mainland China excluding Hubei has fallen for 15 straight days. The number of new infections outside Hubei totalled 56 on Feb. 18, down from a peak of 890 on Feb 3. The World Health Organization's (WHO) emergencies programme chief, Mike Ryan, said China had success with "putting out the fire" first in Hubei and ensuring that people returning to Beijing from the Lunar New Year holiday were monitored. Ryan also said there were no indications the coronavirus was infecting people in North Korea. Chinese officials have been putting on a brave face saying the economic impact of the virus would be limited and short-term. President Xi Jinping said China could meet its 2020 economic targets, media reported. But despite the optimism, foreign analysts have issued a flurry of downgrades and China's economy is still struggling, with many factories closed and others limping back to work after a New Year break that was extended because of the outbreak.

Thieves in Japan have made off with some 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital, with the country facing a mass shortage and a huge price hike online due to the coronavirus. Four boxes containing the face masks disappeared from a locked storage facility at the Japanese Red Cross hospital in the western port city of Kobe, a hospital official said on Tuesday. "We still have a large number of masks -- enough to continue our daily operations at the hospital, but this is so deplorable," the official told AFP. Police have launched an investigation as they suspect the thieves intend to resell the masks. Masks have sold out at many drug and discount stores across the nation as the number of infections have increased in Japan -- one of the most affected countries after China where the death toll from the virus has hit 1,800. Public anxiety has been also fuelled by headlines of hundreds of people infected with the virus on board a ship quarantined off Japan. The theft came after knife-wielding men jumped a delivery driver and stole hundreds of toilet rolls on Monday in Hong Kong, where the coronavirus outbreak has fuelled a run on face masks, hand sanitiser and toilet paper. Japanese flea market app Mercari called on its users to trade masks "within socially accepted limits" after a box of 65 masks was priced at more than 50,000 yen ($456) at its online marketplace. The Japanese government has "strongly requested" mask makers to boost output, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters last week. There has been a shortage of masks at drug stores in the hygiene-conscious nation where face masks have been part of everyday streetwear for decades.

Another 88 people aboard a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, as those free of the disease hoped they were spending their last night on board before disembarking. The new cases take the total from the Diamond Princess to 542 -- easily the biggest cluster outside the epicentre in China -- as the cruise ship has proved an especially virulent breeding ground for the virus despite quarantine. The new cases will be sent to specialised hospitals, the ministry said in a statement, without giving further details such as their nationalities. Sixty-five of those who tested positive were not yet showing symptoms. Britain became the latest country to offer its citizens a way off the boat, saying it was "working to organise a flight back to the UK" as doubts grow over the effectiveness of the quarantine measures with every spike in positive cases. Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea have already said they will evacuate their citizens from the ship, following the lead from the United States, which flew home around 300 Americans on Monday -- including more than a dozen who had tested positive. "We have done tests for everyone (on the ship)," Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters. "Some results have already come out... and for those whose test results are already clear, we are working to prepare disembarkation," he said. In a letter sent to passengers, authorities explained that some test results would take time to process and that therefore "we plan the disembarkation to take place from 19 to 21 February". "If you and your roommate are both negative and have no fever of respiratory symptoms, you will be able to prepare for disembarkation," the letter said. But those who had close contact with anyone who tested positive will have their quarantine reset to the last date. The crew, some of whom have complained about conditions on board, are also expected to remain to observe another quarantine period after the last passengers leave the ship. Japan has been forced to defend its policy amid criticism for the way it handled the situation, with dozens of new infections detected almost daily since the ship arrived in early February. The Americans already evacuated will have to undergo another 14-day quarantine in the United States. Canada said Tuesday it had arranged a chartered flight to repatriate nationals from the Diamond Princess, but gave no details when it would take place. There were 256 Canadians on board the ship, with 32 so far testing positive for the virus. South Korea will send a presidential aircraft on Tuesday to fly back four nationals and one Japanese spouse, an official told reporters. There are 14 South Koreans on board, but the other ten have declined to be evacuated because they live in Japan, the Yonhap news agency reported. While foreign governments have couched their decision to remove citizens as an attempt to reduce the burden on Japanese authorities, many have interpreted the evacuations as tacit criticism of Tokyo's handling of the situation. The US and Australia have told citizens that if they decline repatriation and an additional 14-day quarantine, they will not be allowed home for at least two weeks, suggesting they do not believe the ship-based quarantine worked. Japan has also confirmed at least 74 cases domestically -- including many involving people with no history of recent travel to China. Authorities say the virus is now being transmitted locally, and have asked citizens to avoid crowds and non-essential gatherings. On Monday, the amateur portion of the Tokyo Marathon -- which had been expected to attract some 38,000 runners -- was cancelled. Only elite athletes will now take part. The public celebration for Emperor Naruhito's birthday has also been scrapped.

* Japan to start trials 'as soon as possible' - govt spokesman * Total infection cases at 520, most from cruise liner * US, other countries evacuating nationals from Diamond Princess  Japan plans to trial HIV medications to treat patients infected with coronavirus as its growing number of cases poses an increasing threat to the economy and public health, the government's top spokesman said on Tuesday. The government was making "preparations so that clinical trials using HIV medication on the novel coronavirus can start as soon as possible," Yoshihide Suga told a briefing, but added he could not say how long a new drug would take to be approved. Japan had 520 confirmed infections by Monday, including 454 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off the port of Yokohama, the health ministry said, with one death from the virus. On Tuesday, there was three more cases confirmed with the virus in Wakayama Prefecture, local media reported. As the contracting economy fuels a risk of recession, the spread of the virus has prompted Tokyo to put limits on the size of public gatherings while some companies are telling employees to work from home. The HIV trials come as those drugs have been touted as a potential cure for the coronavirus around the world. With no therapy yet proven 100% effective, the epidemic has killed close to 1,900 people in mainland China. People in China have begun exploring unorthodox ways to get treated, with some appealing to HIV patients and unauthorised importers for medicine. In Thailand, doctors said they appeared to have had some success in treating severe cases of the virus with a combination of medications for flu and HIV. As demand for masks skyrockets, police are investigating a theft of 6,000 surgical masks reported by the Kobe Red Cross Hospital in the central Japanese city, a hospital official told Reuters. Japanese officials have vowed to work hard to avoid disruptions to the Olympic Games, which start in Tokyo in July. But growing concern over the virus spurred Mongolia's Olympics archery team to cancel training in Japan, the Kyodo news agency said. On Monday, US government evacuation flights flew home more than 300 Americans who had been on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. With more than 3,000 passengers and crew, the ship has been in quarantine since early this month, after a passenger who had left it in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus. About half of those aboard are Japanese and the rest foreign nationals, many of whom have expressed frustration over the quarantine. The liner will receive meals from World Central Kitchen, a non-profit set up by celebrity chef Jose Andres, in a bid to reduce the burden on crew, said Rai Caluori, vice president of vessel operator Princess Cruises. Foreign governments including Australia, Canada, Italy and South Korea also plan to take citizens off the cruise liner. A plane chartered by the Canadian government has left for Japan to evacuate its nationals, TV Asahi said. Canada has said 14 days of quarantine await them on their return. South Korea is also sending a government charter flight on Tuesday to take home four citizens, and a Japanese spouse, who have no symptoms, a South Korean official said. Japanese who test negative will begin disembarking as early as Wednesday, health minister Katsunobu Kato said. "Everyone wants to return home as soon as possible, so considering that feeling, we are making preparations," Kato told reporters. Disembarkation was set for Feb. 19 to 21, Japan's vice health minister said, according to a copy of a letter circulated on Twitter by a passenger using the handle @daxa-tw. The letter told passengers that Yokohama health authorities would take their temperatures before they left the ship. Japan's health ministry could not immediately be reached for confirmation.

Japan said on Monday it would limit public crowds in Tokyo to prevent a further spread of the deadly coronavirus, scrapping the emperor's birthday celebrations and closing next month's Tokyo Marathon to all but elite professional runners. The widening fallout of the outbreak, which began in China in December and has killed over 1,700 people, is threatening large public events and damaging output and tourism in Japan. A further spread of the virus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, could undermine growth and potentially push the country into recession, analysts say. Citing "circumstances", the Imperial Household Agency said it would cancel Emperor Naruhito's public birthday address on Feb. 23, his first since his coronation last year. The event regularly attracts tens of thousands of people to the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace in the heart of Tokyo. The last time the emperor's birthday celebration was cancelled was 1996, amid a hostage crisis at the Japanese embassy in Peru. Organisers of the Tokyo Marathon, one of the world's biggest such races, say the 38,000 general participants who signed up for the March 1 race will not be allowed to compete, a person with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. Instead, the event will be limited to top-level competitors. A total of 176 elite runners and 30 elite wheelchair athletes are registered for the race. Shares of some of the marathon's sponsors fell. Seiko Holdings, the maker of watches and clocks, slid 3.5%, as did shoe and sportswear maker ASICS Corp. The broader Tokyo market was little changed. The marathon is not the only international sporting event in Japan the virus has affected: The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 postponed a qualifying basketball game between Japan and China, originally scheduled to be held near Tokyo this week. As the number of people infected in Japan has risen above 400, most of them passengers on a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, a hospital outside Tokyo said it would stop admitting new patients after one of its staff tested positive for the virus. The hospital in Sagamihara, 50km west of Tokyo, said a nurse was infected after treating an inpatient who died of the disease this month. On Monday morning, a fifth government-chartered flight carrying 65 Japanese arrived in Tokyo from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the outbreak, bringing the total number repatriated from the city to 763, broadcaster NHK reported. Hundreds of passengers are preparing to be evacuated from the quarantined cruise ship, and one member of the testing team from Japan's health ministry has tested positive for the disease, the ministry said. Companies are stepping up measures to prevent the spread of the virus as a growing number of cases have been reported in people who have neither visited China nor have had direct contact with people arriving from there. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, one of Japan's biggest companies, said it was urging its roughly 200,000 group-wide employees to work from home or stagger their commutes. On Friday, NTT Data Corp said a contract employee who worked at one of its buildings was confirmed infected. The company has ordered 14 workers who were in close contact with that person to work at home, it said. 

Another 70 people on board a quarantined cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases from the vessel to 355, Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato said on Sunday. The Diamond Princess, owned by Carnival Corp, has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it travelled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus. The ship, with some 3,700 passengers and crew on board, has the most coronavirus infections outside China. Those testing positive are transferred to Japanese hospitals. No one from the ship has died of the virus. "We must anticipate a spread of infections from now and must build medical system and so on to focus efforts to prevent people from becoming gravely ill or dying," Kato said in a programme on state broadcaster NHK. "We will make the people feel at ease by providing information in a timely manner, and continue to forestall measures," he said. The United States, Canada and Hong Kong are sending aircraft to Japan to bring back their citizens on board the ship. The US Embassy in Tokyo said passengers and crew on board the ship were at high risk of exposure to the virus and it recommended that its citizens get off and take one of the flights home. "This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are taking additional steps to assist US citizens," it said. The embassy said all passengers would be screened before being allowed to board the chartered flights and everyone would be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival back in the United States. "No symptomatic or infected passengers will be allowed to board," it said. Clyde Smith, 80, who was evacuated from the ship to a Tokyo hospital after testing positive for the virus told Reuters on Sunday he had not been told if would be allowed on a US evacuation plane. Hong Kong authorities said they were also sending chartered flights to bring Hong Kong residents and Canada has also chartered a plane to repatriate Canadians on the ship, its government said. Latest figures from Beijing on Sunday showed 68,500 cases of the illness and 1,665 deaths, mostly in Hubei province. Japan has had 53 cases of the coronavirus, apart from those on the ship, NHK reported, with one of only four deaths from the virus outside mainland China in Japan. Hong Kong, the Philippines and France have all had single virus deaths.

The US State Department will evacuate some American citizens and their families aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the biggest cluster of coronavirus infections outside China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. About 380 people will be offered seats on two evacuation flights from Japan back to the United States, the Journal said, citing an official of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The evacuees will arrive in the United States as early as Sunday, the newspaper said, citing Henry Walke, director of the CDC's Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections. The CDC was not immediately available for comment. Officials at Japan's foreign ministry and health ministry were also not available for a comment. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp , has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 3, with 3,500 passengers and crew on board, of whom 218 have tested positive for the coronavirus infection. The liner was quarantined in Yokohama after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it travelled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus. Those who have tested positive for the virus have been taken off the ship to hospital.

The first passengers began leaving a quarantined cruise ship off Japan’s coast yesterday to finish their isolation in government-designated lodging after testing negative for the new coronavirus.  Japan’s government has given passengers aged 80 or older in poor health or confined to windowless inner cabins on the Diamond Princess the chance to move from the ship to accommodation on land.  But only those who test negative for the virus that has so far infected more than 200 people on board the ship have the option to move. The first of them departed the massive cruise ship yesterday afternoon, travelling in buses with blacked out windows. At the wheel, one driver was dressed in a head-to-toe white protective suit, complete with goggles and mask.  A government official said 11 people had left, but declined to say whether more would depart yesterday or offer further details. The move comes a day after the number of infections diagnosed on the ship rose to 218. Senior health ministry official Gaku Hashimoto boarded the ship yesterday morning to announce that all passengers “who are considered to be high risk in general health” would now be tested for the virus.  “Those who test positive will be transferred to the hospital. Those who test negative will – at the request of the individual – disembark and be transferred to accommodation provided by the government,” he said in a statement in English read out by the ship’s captain in a public broadcast.  “We are aware that many people are worried and concerned about the situation. However, to improve the situation as much as possible, the government is making its best efforts,” the statement said. There were more than 3,700 people on the ship when it arrived off the Japanese coast last week, but those diagnosed with the virus have been taken off the boat, along with some people suffering other health conditions requiring medical attention.   Ten of those hospitalised are now in serious condition, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said yesterday. Excluding the cases on the ship, and an infected quarantine officer, Japanese authorities have so far diagnosed 33 people with the newly named COVID-19.  The newly diagnosed cases include a woman in her 80s whose positive test result emerged after she died in hospital. The woman was reportedly the mother-in-law of a taxi driver in Tokyo who has also been diagnosed with the virus.  A doctor in Wakayama prefecture and a patient treated in the hospital where the doctor worked have also been diagnosed. Officials in the region said they were still not sure if the doctor had infected the patient.  “It is difficult to trace the route of the infection,” governor Yoshinobu Nisaka told reporters.  He said officials were asking people in the area “to report suspicious cases of pneumonia so that we can immediately conduct tests”.   The hospital has been closed to visitors and medical staff are now being tested for the virus, Nisaka added. Despite the new infections, government officials sought to play down concerns about the spread of the virus in Japan. “There is not enough epidemiological evidence to suggest that the epidemic is spreading inside Japan,” government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters. “We will keep collecting epidemiological information including on the routes of infection.”  The Diamond Princess has been quarantined off Japan since early February after it emerged a former passenger who got off the boat in Hong Kong had tested positive for the virus. The quarantine is due to end on February 19 and those on the ship have been mostly confined to their cabins and asked to wear masks and keep their distance from other passengers during brief outings on open deck.  Crew on board have expressed concern that their conditions – including shared cabins, bathrooms and workspaces – put them at greater risk of contracting the virus.   Yesterday afternoon, the crew distributed iPhones to passengers on board, with the captain saying the handsets had been sent by the Japanese government.   “We are distributing iPhones to all staterooms, loaded with an application ... (that) will help you to get medical support. Full instructions will be distributed together with the phones,” he said.

A woman has died from the coronavirus in Japan, the first such death in the country since the epidemic spread from China, the health minister said yesterday.  Two taxi drivers, one of them in the capital Tokyo, have also tested positive, raising the possibility that it could be passed on through their passengers. On the Diamond Princess cruise liner quarantined in the port of Yokohama, 44 new cases were confirmed. But in some good news for the 3,500-odd passengers and crew who have been stuck onboard since Feb 3, Japan said it would allow some elderly people who have tested negative for the coronavirus to disembark ahead of schedule. Japan is of the countries worst affected by the epidemic outside China, with 251 confirmed cases, including those on the Diamond Princess. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that a woman in her 80s living in Kanagawa prefecture, which borders Tokyo, had died. She was the first fatality in Japan, and the third outside mainland China. The woman fell ill in January but only later showed symptoms of pneumonia and was hospitalised, then transferred to another hospital when her condition worsened. Her infection with the coronavirus confirmed after her death, Kato said. The route of contagion was being investigated. The minister also confirmed that a Tokyo taxi driver in his 70s had tested positive for the virus, along with a doctor in central Japan.  A third person, also a taxi driver, in Chiba just east of Tokyo has also tested positive. Kato announced earlier yesterday that elderly passengers on the Diamond Princess who have pre-existing conditions or are in windowless rooms would be allowed to leave starting from Friday, rather than the originally targeted date of Feb 19. They will complete their quarantine onshore. The liner was quarantined on arrival in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on February 3 after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it travelled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus that has now killed more than 1,350 people in mainland China.  About 80% of the ship’s passengers were aged 60 or over, with 215 in their 80s and 11 in their 90s, according to Japanese media.  The ship, managed by Princess Cruise Lines and owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp, typically has a crew of 1,100 and a passenger capacity of 2,670. The additional 44 cases included 43 passengers and one crew member, Kyodo news agency said. With the number of those infected on the cruise ship now up to 218 plus one quarantine officer, concerns have been raised about conditions on the ship. Brandon Brown, a health expert at the University of California, said that despite some passengers’ concerns, recycled air on the ship did not pose a risk.  “The more likely explanation for the spread of infection during quarantine on the ship is the high passenger interaction due to close quarters and limited personal space on any cruise ship,” Brown said. Indian media aired videos in which Indian crew members said they were working in close quarters and appealed for help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A health ministry official could not confirm how many of those infected so far on the ship were crew. Also yesterday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the cabinet would decide on Friday on spending 10.3bn yen ($95mn) from the budget reserve to respond to the coronavirus. Tokyo 2020 Olympics President Yoshiro Mori repeated that the Summer Olympics due to held in the capital from July 24 would go ahead as planned. “I would like to clearly reiterate that cancellation or postponement of the Tokyo Games are not being considered,” he said at the start of a meeting with International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission Chief John Coates.

A 112-year-old Japanese man has been crowned the world's oldest male, claiming that smiling is the key to longevity. Chitetsu Watanabe, who was born on March 5, 1907 in Niigata, north of Tokyo, was officially given the title at his nursing home in the city, Guinness World Records said Wednesday. The previous record holder, Masazo Nonaka, also Japanese, died last month at 112 years and 266 days. Watanabe, who is married with five children, said the secret to longevity is to "not get angry and keep a smile on your face." He admitted a penchant for sweets such as custard pudding -- but it appears to have done him no harm. The oldest living person is also Japanese, Kane Tanaka, a 117-year-old woman. Japan has one of the world's highest life expectancies and has been home to several people recognised as among the oldest humans to have ever lived. They include Jiroemon Kimura, the longest-living man on record, who died soon after his 116th birthday in June 2013. The oldest verified person ever -- Jeanne Louise Calment of France -- died in 1997 at the age of 122, according to Guinness.

* 40 new cases confirmed including officer: ministry * Ship was placed in 2-week quarantine off Yokohama on Feb. 3 * 3,700 people aboard; tests still being conducted on ship * Officer had been involved in passenger health checks: report Another 39 people have tested positive for the coronavirus on the cruise ship Diamond Princess quarantined in Japan, with one quarantine officer also infected, bringing the total to 175, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The Diamond Princess was placed in quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus. The epidemic originated in mainland China, where more than 1,100 people have now died from the virus. About 3,700 people are on board the ship, which usually has a crew of 1,100 and a passenger capacity of 2,670. The ministry said tests were being conducted for others deemed to need them and it would announce the results later. The British-flagged Diamond Princess is managed by Princess Cruise Lines, one of the world's largest cruise lines and a unit of Carnival Corp. Kyodo news agency, citing the health ministry, said that of the 39 cases, 10 were crew and 29 were passengers. Ten were Japanese nationals and the others were from 11 countries including the United States and China. Four were in serious condition, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said. People testing positive for the virus are taken off the ship to hospital. The quarantine officer who was infected had been handing out questionnaires checking the health of passengers and crew since Feb. 3, and had been following rules that require the wearing of a mask and gloves but not a full protective suit, according to the Nikkei business daily, quoting the health ministry. ‘It's terrible about the quarantine officer,’ one passenger on the ship, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. ‘The ones who came to our room to do the initial screening had gloves and surgical masks, while the ones who came to do the actual virus test also had full gowns and full face masks.’ 'HIGH RISK' A health ministry official had no immediate comment, but Nikkei said the ministry was checking the officer's contacts with colleagues and family members. ‘There are lots of ways to get infected even if you're wearing a mask. Hand hygiene, touching the mask and then not washing hands, wearing a mask but touching your eyes with contaminated hands ... It happens,’ said David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. ‘Personal protective items reduce risk, they don't eliminate it,’ he said. Mark Kortepeter, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said while it was hard to reach conclusions based on limited information, the ship infections pointed to an ‘agent that is highly transmissible’ at least in enclosed environments. ‘The infected quarantine officer probably indicates the high risk, even for individuals who are trying to protect themselves, because the virus is unforgiving and there is no room for error in use of personal protective equipment and hand hygiene,’ he said. ‘A small number of virus particles is likely needed to infect, making it an efficient spreader.’ The government was considering allowing elderly and those with chronic illnesses to disembark before the Feb. 19 target date for the end of quarantine, some media reported, but added it would take time to determine where they could be sent. About 80% of the passengers were aged 60 or over, with 215 in their 80s and 11 in the 90s, the English-language Japan Times newspaper reported. The foreign ministry released a notice on Wednesday urging its nationals to consider delaying trips to China and for Japanese in China to return home. Japan has sent four chartered flights to China's Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, for its citizens there to return and plans a fifth.          

Passenger tests aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan confirmed at least 65 more cases of coronavirus on Monday, as some passengers took to social media to warn against depression over their confinement. The figure takes the tally on board to 135, showing a rapid rise in the outbreak on the ship docked in the port of Yokohama. Among the new 65 cases are 45 Japanese and 11 Americans, Japan's health ministry said. "This is not news that anyone of us wanted to receive," the captain told passengers in a broadcast over speakers in their cabins. "However, we have been also advised since we are in the early quarantine period of 14 days; it was not unexpected." The captain's remarks formed part of an audio recording posted on Twitter by Yardley Wong, a passenger documenting the experience on the ship, using the hashtag #anxiety. Japan's health ministry confirmed the 65 new cases in a statement. The Diamond Princess was placed in quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus. About 3,700 people are aboard the ship, which usually has a crew of 1,100 and a passenger capacity of 2,670. Passengers have been allowed on decks in shifts to get fresh air and encouraged to regularly take their temperature. "Lots of the passengers now are getting a bit of cabin fever," British passenger David Able said in a video posted on Facebook. "Depression is starting to set in." Another said he hoped assurances about the effectiveness of quarantine and ventilation on board would prove true. "I will get nervous if we pass 200," said the 43-year-old Hong Kong resident quarantined on the boat with his wife, child and several of his family. "Hoping best for those taken to hospital. At least two report back to us on Facebook that they are symptom-free," added the man, who declined to be identified. Addressing some passengers concerned about the ventilation, the captain's latest announcement said that they are supplying "100 percent of fresh air" throughout guest rooms. People who have been in close contact with newly confirmed cases on the ship face a longer quarantine than the originally planned period until Feb. 19, the World Health Organization said late on Sunday, without saying how many there were. Japan's health ministry is recording infection counts on the ship and evacuee flights from China separately from the official tally. Domestic cases stand at 21. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Japan would send a fifth chartered flight to China's central city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, to bring citizens home. The disease has killed 908 people, chiefly in mainland China, and infected more than 40,000. The UK-flagged Diamond Princess is managed by Princess Cruise Lines, one of the world’s largest cruise lines and a unit of Carnival Corp. 

Three more people on a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the number aboard to 64, the government said Saturday, with passengers facing a two-week quarantine. The latest confirmation came a day after an additional 41 passengers were found to have contracted the virus, which has killed hundreds of people, most of them in China, where it has infected more than 30,000 on the mainland. Japanese authorities have so far tested about 280 people on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after a former passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong last month was diagnosed with the virus. Test results from six more people were released on Saturday, with three of them confirmed infected, the health ministry said. The three passengers are two Americans -- a woman in her 60s and a man in his 70s -- and a Chinese woman in her 30s, the ministry said without giving their names. They have already been sent to hospital, it added. There were more than 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship when it arrived off Japan's coast on Monday evening. It docked in Yokohama on Thursday to resupply for a quarantine that could last until February 19. One of those found infected is in serious condition. Many on board are elderly and at greater risk of developing complications from the virus. Testing was initially carried out on those who displayed symptoms or had come into close contact with the former passenger diagnosed.   - 'Very, very scary' - Japan has already reported at least 25 cases of coronavirus aside from the infections on board the ship, and evacuated hundreds of citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the pathogen emerged, including on a fourth flight Friday. Passengers on the ship have been asked to stay inside their cabins to prevent new infections and expressed confusion and frustration. The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Tokyo to provide sufficient support, including mental care, for the passengers and patients. ‘There's a lot to do to support those patients. Not just from the point of view of their physical health but from a mental health perspective,’ Michael Ryan, head of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva on Friday. ‘It's quite scary, very, very scary to be in that situation,’ he said. ‘It's a very stressful situation for those individuals.’ But he also called for calm, saying: ‘Let's be careful here not to overreact. This is a very close community living in very close quarters.’ Separately, the foreign ministry said a Japanese man in his 60s with a suspected coronavirus infection has died at a hospital in Wuhan. He would be the first Japanese victim of the outbreak if his diagnosis is confirmed. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent his condolences to his bereaved family and renewed his pledge to contain the outbreak. ‘Protecting our people's lives and health is the top priority,’ Abe told reporters. ‘I will do my best to prevent the spread and take necessary measures without hesitation.’

* Ten passengers test positive for coronavirus * Test results still to come in on 242 passengers * Thousands to be quarantined for two weeks * Passengers concerned about food, medical supplies  Around 3,700 people are facing at least two weeks locked away on a cruise liner anchored off Japan after health officials confirmed on Wednesday that 10 people on the ship had tested positive for coronavirus and more cases were possible. While the infected patients were transferred by Japan's coast guard to hospitals on the mainland, the remainder of the passengers and crew on board the Carnival Corp ship were placed in quarantine and given health screenings. Only 31 results of 273 tests have been received so far, revealing the 10 confirmed cases. The quarantine decision meant that passengers on Carnival's Diamond Princess, which had arrived in Yokohama on Monday after a 14-day round trip, will now spend another two weeks on the ship off Yokohama port near Tokyo. Passengers on the ship took to social media to detail their predicament, posting photos of officials in masks and gowns conducting health checks, room service meals, empty corridors, and a barren deck. British passenger David Abel said all passengers were confined to their cabins on Wednesday morning, with staff delivering food room-by-room. "The challenging situation for me is that I'm an insulin dependent diabetic," Abel said in a video taken in his cabin and posted to his Facebook page, adding that regular and timed food intake was a key part of managing his condition. "We don't have a choice in what we can eat, the announcement recently was that they're starting on the bottom deck and working their way up - I'm on the ninth deck." "This is not a good situation for me as a diabetic and I'm certain that there are many, many more diabetics on the ship." A 43-year-old Hong Kong resident on the ship with six family members, including his wife and son, said that as of lunchtime Wednesday, they had gotten coffee and water but no food. They were hungry but had snacks of their own, he said. "I am not looking forward to the range of emotions in the next two weeks," he told Reuters from his family's windowless room. "Will deal as they come." The man, who declined to be named, said he, his wife and son had been tested for the virus, since he had a cold on the ship and had seen the doctor, but none of them had been diagnosed with it, although he wondered if the virus would show up later. Another passenger, using the handle @daxa_tw, tweeted that he was "hearing from many sides that people are troubled and uneasy." The cruise ship was caught up in the global coronavirus epidemic after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man, who joined for part of the 14-day cruise, tested positive for the virus after disembarking in Hong Kong on Jan. 25. The man had joined a shore excursion in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, on Jan. 22, local media reported. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said officials would continue to monitor the remaining passengers and crew for the potential development of symptoms, suggesting that more test samples could be taken. None of the 10 infected people - three each from Japan and Hong Kong, two Australians, one American and one Filipino crew member - had severe symptoms, public broadcaster NHK reported. In an effort to soothe quarantined passengers, Carnival's Princess Cruises said they would receive free internet and telephone services "in order to stay in contact with their family and loved ones, and the ship's crew is working to keep all guests comfortable." The ship would go out to sea to perform "normal marine operations", it added, including the production of fresh water, before receiving food and other supplies from Yokohama. Carnival said that passengers trapped on the Diamond Princess would receive both a full refund and a future cruise credit. It cancelled another two cruises that had been scheduled for the same ship to leave Yokohama on Feb. 4 and Feb. 12. Not all passengers were overly concerned about the major change to the itinerary. American Ashley Rhodes-Courter posted a text message exchange on Instagram with her parents, Gay and Phil Courter, who are on board the ship. The couple joked that "the food is great, the staff is in good spirits and we're all in the same boat ... Plus they have not run out of some great pinot noir." 

Japan has quarantined a cruise ship carrying 3,711 people and was testing those onboard for the new coronavirus Tuesday after a former passenger was diagnosed with the illness in Hong Kong. Eight people on the vessel, which arrived in Yokohama Bay on Monday, have symptoms such as fever, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. Television footage showed several quarantine officers boarding the Diamond Princess on Monday evening to check all 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew. The move comes after an 80-year-old passenger who disembarked on January 25 in Hong Kong tested positive for the virus, which has killed 425 people in China. The man "did not visit a medical centre inside the ship while he was sailing with us", cruise operator Carnival Japan said in a statement. "According to the hospital where he is staying, his condition is stable and infection was not found among his family members who sailed with him," the statement said. A woman in her twenties on the ship with her mother told private broadcaster TBS on Tuesday that all passengers had been asked to stay in their rooms and wait for tests. The vessel's departure from Yokohama would be delayed by at least 24 hours to Wednesday or later, Carnival Japan said. The cruise ship had already been through a quarantine procedure on Saturday at a port in Naha in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, and quarantine officials had issued certificates allowing passengers and crew to land, Suga said. A health ministry official said no-one aboard at that time showed any symptoms, and the case of the man who disembarked in Hong Kong was not known at that time. After his case emerged, a second quarantine was organised. Quarantine officials are now checking the condition of everyone on board and testing those with symptoms of illness for the new coronavirus, as well as other infectious diseases, including malaria and Dengue fever, a second health ministry official told AFP. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament that tests for the virus would be administered to three groups: those with symptoms, those who got off in Hong Kong, and those who had close contact with the infected passenger. Until the results are in "everyone on board... will stay there," he said. The decision on whether to allow the vessel to dock at Yokohama port and let passengers land on Japanese soil "will be made at the quarantine station," taking into consideration the WHO's estimate of a 10-day incubation period, Suga said. Since Saturday, Japan has been barring foreign nationals who have been to Hubei in recent weeks, as well as holders of passports issued in Hubei -- the Chinese province at the epicentre of the crisis. Arrivals displaying symptoms of the new virus can also be denied entry. A total of 11 foreigners have been barred from entering so far, the immigration service agency said Tuesday. The health ministry said as of Monday that 20 people in Japan have tested positive for the new virus, of whom four showed no symptoms. Japan has also flown more than 500 citizens out of Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated. Local carriers have suspended flights to the centre of the outbreak, with All Nippon Airways saying Tuesday its suspension would now be extended through March 28. It also announced it would reduce the number of flights to Beijing from Tokyo's Haneda and Narita airports.

Two people, including a British man, were killed separately on Saturday as two avalanches struck mountains in Japan, local officials and media said. The 34-year-old Briton was caught in an avalanche on northern Hokkaido island while skiing with two other people, a local official said. "He was sent to hospital but was later confirmed dead," Takahiro Sumiya, a local fire department official, told AFP, adding that the remaining two -- another British national and a Japanese -- were unhurt. Further details, including the person's name, were not immediately available. Separately, a man was killed after he was hit by another avalanche near a ski resort in Nagano, central Japan, local media reported. "He was caught in an avalanche when he was snowboarding with two other people outside a ski slope on Mount Norikura," a local fire department official said. Public broadcaster NHK reported the man, identified as a 47-year-old freelance cameraman, was later confirmed dead. On Friday, a 38-year-old French man was found dead after an avalanche struck a mountain near another ski resort in southern Hokkaido. The avalanche happened Thursday afternoon when the group of eight went off the resort's ski courses to venture into the untouched snow on the mountain.

Researchers at Japanese Shizuoka University said that Artificial Intelligence could potentially be used to ‘hear’ smartphone passwords. They found that the sounds of a finger tapping on a screen is enough for AI to correctly guess the numbers entered. The team says they entered numbers from zero to nine on a smartphone 100 times each. AI then analysed the small differences in sound made when the finger touched each digit on the screen. The program was able to guess which numbers were selected with more than 95 percent accuracy. The researchers say the layout of the parts inside the phone creates differences in sound and resonance that were detected by the AI. They say further advancements could see the technology used to steal passwords and that effective security measures will be needed. (QNA)

Tokyo 2020 organisers are putting the final touches to preparations less than six months out from the start of the Olympics but the area they are most concerned about remains readiness for any natural disaster striking during the Games. With thousands of foreigners expected to descend on Tokyo for the July 24 to Aug. 9 event, organisers are acutely aware of the need to provide clear instructions in English and raise awareness of what to do in case of an earthquake or tsunami. On Tuesday, over 200 of Tokyo's approximately 570,000 foreign residents gathered at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, which will stage events during the Olympics, to run through drills aimed at making them more disaster-savvy. As well as testing earthquake simulators, the participants were also taught how to use fire extinguishers, walk through smoke-filled rooms, phone the police in case of emergency and even what exercises to do if stuck in an evacuation shelter. Japan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to typhoons and earthquakes, and experiences an average of 1,500 temblors a year, although few cause any damage, let alone loss of life. However, experts believe there is a 70% chance of a major earthquake striking the Japanese capital in the next 30 years. Because of this, the foreign residents welcomed all the advice they could get. ‘For the Japanese government to hold an event like this, it really helps foreigners like me because kids in Japan are already taught in school but we have no idea,’ said Vietnamese student Hoa Nguyen, who has lived in Japan for over a year. Over 30 interpreters, speaking six different languages, were on hand to help the participants, who hailed from 44 countries. ‘I actually think it is amazing the effort they tell you ... to prepare, prepare, prepare because it is easy to go through daily life and not worry about it,’ said Rodrigo Coronel, the Nicaraguan ambassador to Japan. ‘So, the Tokyo government has done a fantastic job with these kinds of events.’ Last year, Tokyo 2020 organisers held an earthquake drill at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, a newly built venue for the Olympics, as part of their growing contingency plan ahead of the Games. Olympics organisers will also want to learn from the Rugby World Cup last year, when a powerful typhoon struck, prompting the unprecedented cancellation of three matches.

The man accused of murdering 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home in one of the country’s worst ever mass killings pleaded not guilty yesterday to the horrifying attack as his trial began. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, did not dispute his involvement in the horrifying stabbing rampage during his first court appearance on charges including murder.  After prosecutors read out the details of the charges, the judge asked Uematsu “is there anything in the charges that differs from the facts?” “No there isn’t,” Uematsu replied, dressed in a navy suit with a white shirt and tie, his long black hair tied back in a ponytail.  But despite admitting the attack, Uematsu’s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, saying their client was suffering a “mental disorder” linked to his use of marijuana.  “He abused marijuana and suffered from mental illness. He became a different person and as a result, this incident happened,” his lawyer said.  “He was in a condition in which either he had no capacity to take responsibility or such a capacity was significantly weakened.”  The session was disrupted shortly after it began when court security restrained Uematsu after he reportedly attempted to put something in his mouth. The disturbance prompted the judge to call an unscheduled recess, and Uematsu was not in court when the session briefly resumed in the afternoon. Uematsu has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo, which also injured 26 people. He turned himself in to police after the attack, carrying bloodied knives, and it later emerged that he had left his job at the home just months earlier and had been forcibly hospitalised after telling colleagues he intended to kill disabled people at the centre. He had been discharged after 12 days when a doctor decided he was not a threat. He had also written a letter outlining plans to attack the home, claiming “disabled people only create unhappiness.” Prosecutors said they would prove he was capable of taking responsibility for the attack, adding the rampage was “inhumane” and left “no room for leniency.”  Uematsu faces the death penalty if convicted on some of the six charges, including murder, with a verdict expected on March 16. Since his arrest, he has shown no remorse, telling Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun daily in an interview that people with mental disabilities “have no heart”, and “there’s no point in living” for them. “I had to do it for the sake of society,” he said of the attack.  Uematsu’s beliefs shocked Japan, with experts and activists raising questions about whether others might hold similar views.  Japan has been making efforts to increase accessibility – particularly in Tokyo ahead of this year’s Paralympic Games – and activists hailed last year’s election of two disabled lawmakers. But some critics feel the country still falls short of fully integrating people with disabilities. The case has attracted significant attention, with hundreds of people lining up in the rain for a chance to attend the first session. “I want to know why he came to have such ideas about disabled people,” Yuki Kuriyama, 41, who uses a wheelchair, told AFP.  “I am worried not only about a man who thinks that way but also about this entire society where there are some people who apparently agree with his ideas.”  Many of the names of those killed in the rampage have been withheld by family members fearful of similar attacks or discrimination.  The relative of a 55-year-old man killed at the home told NHK that a long-time neighbour had remarked afterwards: “It’s sad that it happened, but wasn’t it good for you?” Among the few victims to be identified publicly was a 19-year-old woman, Miho, whose mother told Japanese media she hoped the trial would start a conversation on “how we can build a society to prevent a recurrence of this sad incident”.  “I want Miho to be remembered,” she added. “She was a daughter we were very proud of.”

* Japan has asked Lebanon for cooperation * Ghosn says he has evidence of government-backed "coup" * Japanese official vows to do utmost to return Ghosn  Japanese prosecutors on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn's wife for alleged perjury, as officials stepped up efforts to bring the fugitive car industry boss back to face trial on financial misconduct charges. The former Nissan Motor, and Renault chairman fled to Lebanon last month from Japan, where he has alleged there was a government-backed coup to oust him. A senior Japanese Ministry of Justice official said staff were poring over Lebanese laws to find a way to bring back Ghosn and that Japan "will do whatever it can" to put him on trial. In Beirut, the justice minister confirmed that prosecutors had received a "red notice" arrest warrant from Interpol in respect of Ghosn and would take the necessary action. The ministry said nothing had been received from Japanese prosecutors relating to an arrest warrant for his wife, Carole, who is in the Lebanese capital. The Japanese warrant accuses her of falsely claiming not to know, or to have met, people connected to a company that received payments from Nissan Motor, part of which it subsequently transferred to a firm owned by Ghosn. Japan's ambassador to Lebanon, Takeshi Okubo, met President Michel Aoun on Tuesday to request "greater co-operation on this in order to avoid negative repercussions for our friendly relations", according to Aoun's office. Ghosn is scheduled to hold a news conference on Wednesday, his first such appearance since his arrest in November 2018 and his dramatic flight to Lebanon, his childhood home. . "Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife Carole Ghosn," a spokeswoman for Ghosn told Reuters in Beirut. "The issuance of this warrant is pathetic." Ghosn is expected to detail some of the claims he has made against Nissan since his arrest. Citing an interview with Ghosn, Fox Business reported that he said he has "actual evidence" and documents to show there was a Japanese government-backed coup to "take him out". He plans to identify those he believes responsible, the broadcaster said. In earlier court filings seen by Reuters and statements released by his lawyers, Ghosn says he was unseated to destroy any possibility of a merger between Nissan and Renault, accusing Nissan executives of colluding with prosecutors and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry officials. Ghosn's legal team also said prosecutors withheld evidence, citing concerns voiced by Nissan that it included sensitive information about operations and employees. Nissan said that despite Ghosn's flight from Japan the company still held him responsible for "serious misconduct". "The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold Ghosn accountable for the harm that his misconduct has caused to Nissan," the automaker said in a statement. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, on Tuesday described Ghosn's escape to Beirut via Istanbul as "regrettable" and said Tokyo had asked Lebanon for help. "It's necessary to carefully consider the legal systems of both countries," he told a news conference. Lebanon does not normally extradite its citizens. Turkish-based MNG Jet, operator of the private planes Ghosn used to escape, said half of the $350,000 flight contract was paid from Dubai by a company called Al Nitaq Al Akhadar, which it did not know. MNG said last week it was not aware Ghosn used its jets and has blamed an employee it said falsified documents to transport him from Osaka to Beirut.