Japan Reenters 20,000 New Daily Cases... Powerless Against Omicron

Early January 500s → Exploded to 10,000s then 20,000s in Two Days

Last December, the area near Shinbashi Station in Minato Ward, Tokyo, Japan, known for its dense concentration of pubs, was bustling with pedestrians. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyeyoung] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan has risen back to the 20,000 range. At the beginning of this month, the number of new cases in Japan was in the 500s, but it surged about 40 times in less than half a month, triggering warning signs.

According to NHK and other sources, on the 14th, the number of new infections in Japan was counted at 22,045 as of 6 p.m. This is the first time in over four months since the state of emergency was declared in Tokyo and other areas on September 1 last year that the number has exceeded 20,000.

In Japan, the highly contagious Omicron variant has become the main source of infection, leading to a surge in new cases.

The number of new cases, which was in the 500s on January 1, the first day of the new year, rose to the 1,000s within three days, surpassed 10,000 on the 12th (13,244 cases), and then increased to the 20,000 range in just two days. This means it surged about 40 times in just two weeks.

The highest number of daily new cases in Japan so far was 25,992 on August 20 last year during the fifth wave (according to NHK data).

Within Japan, there are forecasts that if the recent rate of infection spread continues, this record will soon be surpassed.

One month after the first Omicron infection was confirmed in Japan, the variant spread throughout all 47 prefectures nationwide. Currently, about 90% of new cases in Japan are estimated to be Omicron infections.

On this day, by region, Tokyo reported 4,051 cases, Osaka 2,826, and Okinawa 1,596, in that order, with the highest number of COVID-19 infections. Nine regions, including Hiroshima, reported their highest number of confirmed cases.

Due to the rapid nationwide increase in Omicron infections, the Japanese government has shortened the quarantine period for close contacts from the previous 14 days to 10 days.