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Japan reports more than 150 new coronavirus cases

Jul 09, 2020 (NHK) - Japanese authorities reported Wednesday that 157 more people have been infected with the coronavirus.

That includes one person in the southwestern prefecture of Okinawa, which hadn't confirmed any cases in more than two months.

The minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the situation in the country is becoming more serious.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said, "In a certain percentage of these cases, the route of infection is unknown. Also the number of older people with the virus is gradually increasing. We need to deal with this state of affairs with a sense of crisis."

However, Nishimura added that so far, there is no need to declare another state of emergency.

Seventy-five of the infections reported on Wednesday are in Tokyo. It's the first time in a week that the number of daily cases has fallen below a hundred in the capital.

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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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