"I feel sad seeing China in such difficulty," said Yano. "In fact what I did is nothing. But I will be happy if I could make my Chinese friends feel warm, even a little bit."

At the request of an interview, Yano at first hesitated. "While people in China are combating the epidemic, it is not time for a foreign actor to talk."

But he was glad to see the epidemic bring Chinese and Japanese people closer. From Tokyo's iconic Skytree illuminated to symbolize "be strong, China," to the verses on boxes of donated masks to China, Japanese residents touched the Chinese with their timely help and kind words.

"Today many Japanese like Chinese culture and are concerned about what's happening in China," said Yano. "We two countries are neighbors and should help each other. When we had difficulties, we received aid from the Chinese as well."

Yano is currently working in Japan on a detective TV show. He was scheduled to take part in the production of a film in March, but the plan was postponed due to the novel coronavirus epidemic.

While he has no idea when will his works hit the screen, the actor takes to social media to ask his audiences to protect themselves against the disease. "Wash your hands frequently, wear masks and take good rest," he said. "You may feel bored confined to your apartment, but there are actually lots of things to do: exercise, learn something new, read a book or watch the movies that you have otherwise no time to watch. The difficult time shall come to an end."

Talking about Wuhan, Yano said he had visited before. "I traveled there to work and stayed for about a week. I tried local food which was really yummy," he said. "It was a pity that I was too busy then to walk around."

"After the epidemic, I will definitely go there again," he said. "I will sit underneath the trees and enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms."