None of Japan's new coronavirus patients had direct China links

First death raises fear that virus is quietly spreading

20200213N rush hour osaka

People seen during the morning commute in Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Toshiki Sasazu)

YOSUKE KURABE, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japan's first domestic coronavirus victim and three patients newly confirmed Thursday had no direct connections to China, raising concerns that a stealth outbreak is already under way in the country. 

The Japanese government said Thursday that a Kanagawa Prefecture woman in her 80s died from the coronavirus. Her son-in-law also tested positive for the disease. Additionally, a doctor in Wakayama Prefecture and a man in Chiba Prefecture are confirmed to have the virus. None of them traveled to China recently or had contact with people who visited Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

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