TOKYO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A plane chartered by the Canadian government has left for Japan to evacuate its nationals aboard a virus-hit cruise ship off Yokohama, TV Asahi reported on Tuesday, citing a tweet by Canada's foreign minister.

TV Asahi said the plane would return to Canada on Tuesday evening, and head to a Canadian air base in eastern part of the country. The Canadian embassy in Tokyo was not immediately available for comment.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship has been under quarantine since early this month, leaving over 3,000 passengers and crew in confinement, after a passenger was diagnosed with the coronavirus. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and Sakura Murakami; Editing by Kim Coghill)