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12 new coronavirus cases reported in Japan

Feb 25, 2020 (Japan Times) - Twelve new cases of coronavirus infection were reported around Japan on Monday, bringing the total number of domestic infections, excluding people who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, to 159.

Among the new cases, three were reported in Tokyo, four in Hokkaido, two in Ishikawa Prefecture and one in Kanagawa Prefecture, local authorities said.

The remaining two were health workers who were on duty aboard the Diamond Princess while it was quarantined in Yokohama, the health ministry said.

East Japan Railway Co. revealed Monday that a man in his 50s who tested positive and was reported to health authorities Saturday is an employee of one of its group companies at JR Sagamihara Station in Kanagawa Prefecture.

JR East said the man was mainly working in an office and did not have direct contact with passengers as a part of his job.

The Sagamihara Municipal Government reported the man’s infection Saturday, as well as those of three family members. JR East said it didn’t reveal the man’s identity that day and left the matter to the city government.

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Airports and railway stations across Japan were crowded on September 23 as travelers returned from their hometowns and holiday destinations on the final day of the five-day Silver Week holiday, with international flight arrivals reaching their peak and many afternoon Shinkansen services fully booked.

Extensive railway disruption continued across Chiba Prefecture on September 23 as JR East warned that several lines damaged by Typhoon No. 25 would remain closed beyond the Silver Week holiday, even as flights returned toward normal, all typhoon-related expressway closures were lifted and some highway bus services resumed. The storm has left widespread damage to railway tracks and embankments, with flooding, landslides and fallen trees complicating restoration work.

The death toll from Typhoon No. 25 rose to nine on September 23, with four people still missing in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, as renewed rainfall raised fears of further landslides in communities devastated by the storm.

The road leading to Otemon Gate at Tokyo's Imperial Palace was flooded on September 22 after heavy rain from a typhoon caused water in the surrounding moat to overflow.

Japan came within two runs of producing one of international cricket's biggest upsets on September 22, pushing reigning T20 world champion India to the final ball before losing a rain-shortened match at Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture.

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Anonymous and fluid criminal groups known in Japan as "tokuryu" are adopting increasingly elaborate tactics, including a scheme in which elderly victims are persuaded to hide cash inside refrigerators before thieves enter their homes, as authorities struggle to combat networks whose members often have no direct contact with one another.

A luxury mansion in Bangkok described as resembling a palace was being used as a base for a specialized fraud operation targeting Japanese people, with Thai authorities detaining 14 people, including four Japanese men.

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