TOKYO: The cumulative number of novel coronavirus infection cases in Japan, including those among cruise ship passengers and crew members, exceeded one million Friday.

The country confirmed 13,394 new cases on the day, bringing the total nationwide tally since the discovery of the first case Jan. 16, 2020, to 1,000,576. The overall number grew by around 100,000 in the eight days through Friday.

The cumulative COVID-19 death toll came to 15,270.

The total number of infections topped 500,000 in April this year, about 15 months after the confirmation of the first case, and the one-million mark four months later.

The pace of infections has been especially high since late July, with new cases topping 10,000 almost every day.

Meanwhile, the daily number of deaths from the virus has been low under 20 in the past month, thanks to progress in vaccinations among the elderly. In mid- to late May, when Japan was experiencing its fourth wave of coronavirus infections, the death toll stood at around 100 per day.

The health ministry attributed the recent spike in new cases to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, as well as fewer people choosing to stay home to avoid the virus.

The Tokyo metropolitan government newly confirmed 4,515 people with the coronavirus Friday, marking the third straight day with more than 4,000 new infections. The western prefecture of Osaka logged 1,310 new cases on the day, its new record daily high.

JIJI Press