Coronavirus infections have been increasing rapidly in some parts of Southeast Asia where Japanese firms have operations, raising concerns about possible disruptions to their businesses.
In Myanmar, where more than 400 Japanese companies are based, virus cases had exceeded 10,000 in late September, a huge increase from about 880 recorded by the end of August.
Workers in the country's largest city, Yangon, have in effect been stopped from going to work except in some industries. A factory run by a major Japanese manufacturer that employs over 1,000 people was forced to halt production temporarily after detecting infections among its workforce.