Japan's cumulative total of confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 100,000 today, on Thursday, according to a tally based on official data, amid a recent uptick in the number of new infections coinciding with a resumption in economic activity, Kyodo reported. The total includes about 700 cases aboard the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama in February. There have been more than 1,700 deaths in the country attributed to the virus. Confirmed cases in Japan swelled in April, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and call on people to stay at home and businesses to temporarily close. Daily figures peaked in August at some 1,600 and have since slowed. But experts advising the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have warned of an upward trend again in new infections, with Tokyo continuing to see a steady number while other parts of the country such as the northernmost main island Hokkaido see an uptick. At 100,000 confirmed cases, Japan has fared much better than the worst-hit parts of the world such as the United States, which has seen more than 8.8 million, as well as France and Germany, which have both announced they are going into lockdown amid a surge in infections.
