Coronavirus outbreak update: Jan. 1, 2021

As of 10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 1

• Tokyo reported 783 new coronavirus infections on the first day of the new year Friday, with the Japanese capital continuing to see a high increase in cases amid growing concerns about the medical system.
  
  
• Eleven members of the Arashio sumo stable have tested positive for the novel coronavirus following the infection of top-division wrestler Wakatakakage, the Japan Sumo Association said Friday.
  
  
• Japanese business leaders pledged Friday to revive the country's economy dented by the novel coronavirus pandemic this year through digital and sustainable innovation.
  
  
• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday said the government will do everything in its power to bring the novel coronavirus under control and pledged to push forward with preparations for this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
  
  
• Japanese Emperor Naruhito thanked medical staff involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his New Year video address broadcast Friday, bringing attention to the burden frontline health care workers are bearing as infections surge in major centers.

As of 10 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31

• President Xi Jinping said Thursday that China has overcome the impact of the pandemic, underscoring his confidence that the world's second-biggest economy has brought the novel coronavirus outbreak under control.
  
  
• Wakatakakage, a wrestler in sumo's elite makuuchi division, has become infected with the novel coronavirus, the Japan Sumo Association announced Thursday.
  
  
• China has approved its first home-developed coronavirus vaccine, the country's health authorities said Thursday, although fears linger about its safety and efficacy.
  
  
• The novel coronavirus pandemic has been selected by senior editors of Kyodo News and its member or subscriber newspapers and broadcasters as the top international news story of 2020.
  
  
• The daily number of coronavirus infections topped 1,300 in Tokyo on Thursday, metropolitan government officials said, exceeding the 1,000 mark for the first time since the pandemic began earlier this year and deepening concerns about hospital capacity.
  
  
• A Tokyo-based money transfer company has spent much of the year supporting Vietnamese stranded in Japan without jobs due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• While uncertainty still surrounds next summer's Tokyo Olympics, athletes village mayor Saburo Kawabuchi is aiming for a safe and successful games following the one-year postponement stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic.