A group of Chinese tourists wear masks in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, on Jan. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO -- The government on Jan. 28 confirmed three more cases in Japan of a new coronavirus that apparently originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, including a Japanese tour bus driver who has never been to the Chinese city.

The two new cases bring the total number of infections confirmed in Japan to seven. The infection of the tour bus driver suggests that the virus may have passed from person to person within Japan, in what would be a first for the country. It also marks the first time a Japanese national has been confirmed to have the virus.

The driver, who is in his 60s, is a resident of the western Japan prefecture of Nara. He is said to have driven two groups of Chinese tourists from Wuhan around Tokyo on Jan. 8-11 and Jan. 12-16. The Chinese government on Jan. 27 implemented a blanket ban on group tours to foreign countries to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the tour bus driver showed symptoms of the virus including coughing and joint pain on Jan. 14, and received a checkup at a medical facility in Nara Prefecture on Jan. 17. No abnormalities were detected in his checkup, but the man's symptoms subsequently worsened. He was examined again on Jan. 25 and hospitalized. Since then, he has reportedly been recovering from his symptoms.

It was further reported that none of the passengers on the bus tours showed clear symptoms of pneumonia.

The other newly confirmed infections are of a Chinese man and a Chinese woman in their 40s, both from Wuhan.

(Mainichi)