They say hospitals are being forced to turn away some COVID-19 patients and hotels where those with mild or no symptoms are asked to quarantine are full.
The daily tally of new cases in Tokyo has been well over the 1,000-level for much of the past week. 135 people in the capital are now in serious condition.
Public health experts report the average number of daily cases is up 65 percent this week, compared to a week earlier.
Director Ohmagari Norio of Disease Control and Prevention Center said, "The current situation may reflect an explosive spread of infections."
With hospital beds filling up, more than 8,000 people who tested positive are quarantining at home. Three have died, including two people who had pre-existing conditions.
Hospital beds for COVID-19 patients are also running low in other parts of the greater Tokyo region.
One reason is that some patients need to stay at the hospital long after testing negative, as they recover.
Even after testing negative, other hospitals are reluctant to accept these patients.
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is urging medical associations to help secure more hospital beds for coronavirus patients... and to prepare for a vaccination drive.
Suga said, "We need your continued cooperation to provide necessary medical assistance to those who need it."
In an effort to curb the contagion, the central government added seven prefectures to its state of emergency on Thursday. The measure will remain in place until February 7.
People are asked to refrain from non-essential outings and help reduce the number of commuters by 70 percent by working from home.
But it appeared to be business as usual in the newly added prefectures on Thursday morning, compared to the state of emergency last spring.
Some businesses are finding it hard to shift to remote work.
As of now there are lots of clinic and medical facilities here in Japan offering a coronavirus test. Some are very affordable and some are still expensive.
(Malago Forum)
A familiar Japanese idiom goes nakitsura ni hachi (a bee stinging a crying face). In other words adding insult to injury, or to make matters worse. (Japan Today)
Japan's Crown Prince Akishino has made an online inspection of hospitals treating coronavirus patients.
(NHK)
A Japanese research team says the "Go To" travel campaign launched last July may have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus in its initial phase.
(NHK)
Automakers in Japan, where almost 30% of the population is 65 or older, are taking the lead on adapting cars so the nation's legions of elderly drivers can feel more confident -- and be safer -- behind the wheel.
(nwaonline.com)
Japan's space agency has allowed the media to see the first and second stages of the country's next mainstay H3 rocket.
(NHK)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred late at night on Saturday 23 January 2021 at 10:12 pm local time near Iwaki, Iwaki-shi, Fukushima, Japan, as reported by NIED. (JS Media)
The source of nocturia, frequent nighttime urination, the number one problem for many seniors, is not what you think it could be! (NHK)
We as a whole know how simple it is to get exhausted at work, get up to speed in the mood of the day, extended periods in the workplace, and nothing new.
(newsonjapan.com)
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it has begun clinical trials in Japan of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by U.S. biotech firm Moderna Inc. with an eye to distributing it in the first half of this year. (Kyodo)
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand. (rnz.co.nz)
Japan's government has signed a contract with US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer to receive about 144 million doses of coronavirus vaccine for 72 million people this year.
(NHK)
People in many parts of Japan have reported seeing what appeared to be a fireball flashing through the sky on Wednesday night.
(NHK)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says about 20 percent of people confirmed infected with the new coronavirus in recent months were asymptomatic when they tested positive.
(NHK)
Indeed, Netflix is among the most prominent online streaming services. (newsonjapan.com)
Skyrocketing numbers of people on waiting lists for hospitalization underline how officials are now being forced to limit medical care to the most critically ill COVID-19 patients amid bed shortages, with the vast majority of less urgent cases consigned into unsupervised home care. (Japan Times)
Researchers from the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design in Tokyo have created a robotic tail for humans. (Strange Things)
Japan's health ministry says three people in the country have been confirmed to be infected with a new strain of the coronavirus now prevalent in Britain. (NHK)
Japanese experts are warning the current wave of coronavirus infections is putting increasing strain on the medical system in the capital.
(NHK)
An expert warns that Tokyo has been experiencing an unprecedentedly rapid increase in new cases of the coronavirus and explosive growth could occur.
(NHK)