WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The U.S. State Department on Saturday called for "increased caution" when traveling to Japan, escalating the alert to level 2 on the four-level advisory scale amid reports that a new coronavirus originating in China is spreading in Japanese communities via unknown infection routes.
The previous advisory at level 1 called on citizens to exercise "normal precautions" in Japan. As for China, the travel advisory has been raised to the highest level of 4, which urges citizens not to travel to the country.
