Tokyo, Feb 3 (IANS): Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday said a rapid test kit for the novel coronavirus is being developed for use at institutions across the country in an effort to detect infections swiftly.

Abe said this at a parliamentary session after Fumio Kishida, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said that currently, virus testing is conducted only at state-run or public institutions such as the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Xinhua reported.

"We have already embarked on the development of a simple test kit," Abe said.

"As cases of infections in Japan are rising, it's an urgent task to improve testing (for the virus) and enhance consultation services," the Prime Minister said.

He added that officials are working to build a framework that would allow private institutions to carry out tests for the coronavirus in addition to public ones.

Japan is stepping up efforts to contain the spread of the virus as the number of confirmed cases, including foreigners, has risen to 20.