Japan’s coronavirus infections top 10,000 for first time since September

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:54 JST, January 12, 2022

New novel coronavirus cases exceeded 10,000 nationwide on Wednesday for the first time since Sept. 9, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun tally.

Tokyo confirmed 2,198 new infections on the day, topping 2,000 for the first time in four months, according to the metropolitan government. Tokyo last saw the number of new infections exceed 2,000 on Sept. 4, when it reached 2,370. Wednesday’s figure was 5.6 times the level a week earlier.

The Osaka prefectural government reported 1,711 new cases on Wednesday, the first time its number topped 1,000 since Sept. 15 and seven times the figure a week earlier.

The Okinawa prefectural government said 1,644 people were newly confirmed to be infected with the virus on Wednesday, its second-highest level of the pandemic. The record daily high for the prefecture is the 1,759 new cases logged on Saturday.