US to evacuate citizens as Japan's ship quarantine comes under fire

Tokyo weighs other nations' requests to leave Diamond Princess

Medical workers walk away from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama on Feb. 11. © AP

JO KAWAKAMI and SHUNSUKE SHIGETA, Nikkei staff writers

February 15, 2020 14:01 JST

Updated on February 16, 2020 03:21 JST

TOKYO -- Washington will send chartered aircraft to evacuate American citizens from a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo on Sunday, the U.S. Embassy said, as coronavirus infections on board mount and Japan faces criticism for its response.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with top Japanese health and other officials on Saturday to discuss the situation on the Diamond Princess, which is docked at Yokohama.