New coronavirus variant found in traveler from Philippines: Japan A man who arrived in Japan from the Philippines in February was infected with a new variant of the novel coronavirus, the health ministry said Friday in the first confirmation of such a case. The variant is distinct from those first discovered in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, and is thought to pose a similar level of threat. Supplied electron micrograph shows a variant strain of the novel coronavirus originating from Britain. (Photo courtesy of Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases)(Kyodo)