An expert panel at Japan's health ministry has approved the use of a coronavirus vaccine developed by major Japanese pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo.

It will be the first formally authorized COVID-19 vaccine developed by a domestic company after the completion of procedures by the ministry.

The panel approved the vaccine on Monday, saying the experts confirmed its effectiveness and safety.

Japan has been using vaccines developed by foreign firms such as Pfizer and Moderna, as there have been no domestically-developed ones.

In January, Daiichi Sankyo filed an application with the ministry for approval of its messenger RNA vaccine, the same type as ones developed by both Pfizer and Moderna.

The vaccine targets the original strain of the virus. It is designed to enhance immunity by creating part of a spike protein in the human body through the administration of artificially produced mRNA.

At Monday's meeting, the panel also discussed a coronavirus vaccine developed by another Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, but the experts decided to continue their deliberation on it.