February 19, Wednesday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Eriko Kojima and Ms. Fumiko Konoe

  1. Passengers who served out of a 14-day quarantine aboard the Diamond Princess have begun disembarking, with Japanese officials expecting 500 people to do so by the end of Wednesday.
  2. Health authorities in China say 136 more people infected with the new coronavirus died on Tuesday mainly in Hubei Province, bringing the number of fatalities in the country to 2004.
  3. The global economic slowdown has pushed Japan’s trade deficit to its highest level in a year.

February 17, Monday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradhan and Ms. Kimberly Gale

  1. School operators across mainland China have delayed the resumption of classes as more than 70,000 people have been infected with the new coronavirus there.
  2. Two U.S. charted flights have left Japan, carrying 328 Americans from the cruise ship quarantined south of Tokyo.
  3. New figures from the Japanese government show that GDP shrank in the final quarter of last year, as the consumption-tax increase weighed on consumer spending.

February 16, Sunday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

  1. Health authorities in China say 142 deaths from the new coronavirus were confirmed, mostly in Hubei Province.
  2. New cases of the coronavirus in Japan have been confirmed, bringing the total to over 400, including 355 on a cruise ship offshore.
  3. The top diplomats of Japan, the U.S. and South Korea have agreed to support China’s efforts to curb the spread of infections with the new coronavirus.

February 13, Thursday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradhan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

  1. Japan’s health ministry says another 44 cases of new coronavirus infection have been confirmed on the cruise ship Diamond Princess.
  2. The Japanese government has devised the first set of emergency measures to deal with the new coronavirus outbreak.
  3. A cruise ship that has been denied entry by a number of countries due to fears over the coronavirus has arrived in Cambodia.

February 12, Wednesday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Eriko Kojima

  1. Japan’s health minister says 39 more people on board a cruise ship at the port of Yokohama have been found to be infected with the new coronavirus. A quarantine official has also been infected.
  2. The Japanese government will ban people from the Chinese province of Zhejiang from entering the country starting Thursday.
  3. The World Health Organization says the disease caused by the new coronavirus has been named COVID-19.

February 11, Tuesday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

  1. Officials of China’s National Health Commission say 108 more people died from the new coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 1,016.
  2. Japanese health officials are retesting people who returned home on board the first government-chartered flight from Wuhan for the new coronavirus.
  3. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has issued a statement to commemorate Japan’s national foundation day.

February 10, Monday, 2020 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Yoshi Ogasawara and Ms. Kimberly Gale

  1. Chinese health authorities say the number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus in mainland China has topped 40,000, with the death toll now over 900.
  2. U.S. Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigeig is trying to win support from a wider spectrum of voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire.
  3. Iran has announced that it launched a rocket carrying a satellite that failed to reach orbit.