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Tokyo logs sixth consecutive day below 100 with 39 coronavirus cases

May 09, 2020 (Japan Times) - The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 39 coronavirus infections on Friday, stretching the consecutive number of days below 100 to six.

The six-day double-digit run is the first since April 3, according to metropolitan government data. The state of emergency declared by the central govenrnment in April was extended earlier this week amid low testing rates.

The capital, which logged a peak of 201 cases on April 17, has accumulated an official total of 4,810 cases and at least 160 deaths since the pandemic began.

Tokyo accounts for over a quarter of the nationwide total, which exceeds 16,200 cases, including those infected on cruise ships that underwent prolonged quarantines in Japan. Deaths stand at a minimum of 603.

After the state of emergency was extended until the end of the month, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government asked some businesses to stay shut and offered additional financial aid to those that comply.

But some Tokyo restaurants, pachinko parlors and bookstores shut since last month reopened this week, prompting Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike to voice concerns and ask residents to refrain from nonessential outings.

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Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

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