Japan Surpasses South Korea in Cumulative COVID-19 Cases... 'State of Emergency' Declared

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] It has been reported that the cumulative number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Japan surpassed that of South Korea on the 18th.

NHK reported that as of around 4 p.m. on that day, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Japan, excluding passengers on the cruise ship "Diamond Princess," was counted at 10,098, exceeding 10,000 for the first time.

Adding the 712 confirmed COVID-19 cases among passengers of the Diamond Princess, which was docked at Yokohama Port in Japan, the total number of confirmed cases in Japan is 10,810.

Thus, including the cruise ship patients, the number of confirmed cases in Japan as of midnight on the 18th surpassed South Korea's cumulative confirmed cases of 10,653.

Considering that Japan's daily new confirmed cases recently have been around 500, while South Korea's remain in the range of 10 to 20, it is becoming certain that Japan has overtaken South Korea.

NHK reported that 181 additional COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Tokyo Metropolis on that day. The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tokyo Metropolis increased to 2,975.

The day before, Tokyo Metropolis recorded 201 confirmed COVID-19 cases, marking the first time daily confirmed cases exceeded 200.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.