Passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship's 2020 voyage struck by coronavirus infections have gathered to remember others aboard who died of the disease.

Five former passengers were at Daikoku Pier at Yokohama Port on Monday, exactly five years after the viral cluster was confirmed.

They prayed for the repose of the victims and threw flowers into the sea.

The cruise ship was mooring off the port near Tokyo when infections were confirmed among passengers and crewmembers.

Of about 3,700 people on board, 712 were infected and 13 died.

Testing methods and medical treatment for the coronavirus were not well established at that time.

Amid discussions over which country should take charge of handling the outbreak, passengers were quarantined on board.

Former passenger Hirasawa Yasuhito came from Osaka City, western Japan, to pay his respects.

He said he renewed his resolve that the lives of the victims must not be lost in vain.

He urges the government to erect a monument to keep the memory of infection cluster alive.