Coronavirus outbreak updates: Jan. 6, 2021

As of 11 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 6

• Japan's daily coronavirus infections totaled 6,004 cases, topping 6,000 for the first time since the start of the outbreak last year, a Kyodo News tally based on official data showed Wednesday.

• The number of people using the shinkansen and conventional train services operated by Japan Railway companies plunged 68 percent during the year-end and New Year period from a year earlier to 4,879,000, marking the lowest level since comparable data were made available in 1991, six JR companies said Wednesday.
  
  
• Tokyo's daily coronavirus infections totaled a record 1,591 on Wednesday, officials said, as the rapid spread of infections shows no sign of abating across Japan.
  
  
• Yuichi Sugita, Japan's third-highest ranked male tennis player, revealed on Twitter late Tuesday evening he tested positive for the coronavirus.

As of 11 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 5

• A monthlong state of emergency planned by the Japanese government to contain a resurgence of novel coronavirus infections is expected to knock trillions of yen off private consumption, with some economists predicting the economy will return to contraction.
  
  
• North Korea, despite its claim that the nation does not have even a single case of coronavirus infection, is seeking help from an international framework designed to guarantee equitable global access to vaccines, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
  
  
• New car sales in Japan slumped 11.5 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, marking the largest fall in nine years, data from industry bodies showed Tuesday.
  
  
• The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 1,278 new novel coronavirus infections on Tuesday, logging the second highest daily tally on record, officials said.
  
  
• Yokozuna Hakuho looks unlikely to contest the upcoming New Year Grand Sumo tournament after learning Tuesday he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
  
  
• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he will decide Thursday whether to declare another state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures as the areas continue to see record numbers of new coronavirus cases.
  
  
• A bluefin tuna fetched just 20.84 million yen ($202,000) on Tuesday at the New Year's auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, a price far lower than in previous years as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic weighs on the restaurant industry.