Coronavirus outbreak update: Jan. 9, 2021

As of 11 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 9

• The Japan Sumo Association said Saturday five wrestlers who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and the two stables they belong to, will miss the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament starting Sunday.
  
  
• The Tokyo metropolitan government on Saturday reported an additional 2,268 coronavirus cases, topping the 2,000 mark for the third straight day.
  
  
• Medical facilities across Japan are struggling to cope with the recent surge in novel coronavirus infections, leaving the medical care system in many areas on the brink of collapse.
  
  
• The governors of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo are set to ask the central government Saturday to include their western Japan prefectures in the state of emergency that took effect a day earlier for the Tokyo region over the resurging coronavirus.
  
  
• The idea of Japan introducing a universal basic income, recently floated by one of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's economic advisers, has caught the eye at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is stirring worries about job security and social inequality.
  
  
• Japan will further tighten its border controls from Saturday by requiring all people arriving to submit negative results from virus tests taken within 72 hours of their departure for Japan during the period of the latest state of emergency.

As of 11 p.m., Friday, Jan. 8

• Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's declaration of another state of emergency to bring a recent surge of coronavirus infections under control appears to have come too late, with the government's decision-making process slowed by his prioritization of economic recovery and the manner in which he took office four months ago.
  
  
• Major Japanese airlines said Friday they will suspend more domestic flights after Japan declared a fresh state of emergency over the novel coronavirus for Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures to stem the spread of the virus.
  
  
• Osaka and two other western Japan prefectures decided Friday to jointly request the central government to expand the state of emergency to their areas as coronavirus infections continue to rise.
  
  
• Tokyo's confirmed daily coronavirus cases topped 2,000 for the second day in a row on Friday, after the metropolitan area was put under a one-month state of emergency amid record numbers of cases and the rapid spread of infections in other major cities.
  
  
• The Tokyo metropolitan area must aim to see a 70 percent reduction in commuters, a government minister said Friday, after the region was put under a state of emergency amid record numbers of coronavirus cases.
  
  
• Japanese business leaders said Thursday support will be necessary for struggling firms under a second state of emergency over the novel coronavirus in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, while they viewed the decision as inevitable due to resurging infections.