Following the World Health Organization's lead, Japan issued a travel warning Thursday for Hong Kong and China's Guangdong Province and stepped up quarantine efforts at airports to guard against the spread of a deadly respiratory virus.
In announcing a set of measures to tackle severe acute respiratory syndrome, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said no cases of the disease have been confirmed in Japan.
However, the government's top spokesman said 14 Japanese who have been overseas recently may be infected with the virus. Three are exhibiting symptoms of pneumonia, he added.