The governor of Hokkaido and the mayor of Sapporo have issued a joint emergency declaration as coronavirus infections have started to increase again.

Governor Suzuki Naomichi told Mayor Akimoto Katsuhiro in Sapporo City on Sunday that newly confirmed cases in the northern prefecture have hit double digits for five days in a row. Suzuki said Hokkaido may be experiencing a second wave of infections.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Japan has exceeded 7,000 as of Sunday.

As of 4:00 p.m., 78 new cases had been reported across the country for the day, bringing the total to 7,001. The figure includes people found positive in airport quarantine checks, as well as those who returned to Japan on chartered planes from China.

The Japanese minister in charge of coronavirus measures has called for further efforts to reduce social contact by up to 80 percent to contain the spread of the virus.

Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said on an NHK program on Sunday that there have been fewer people going out in areas covered by the state of emergency.

An advocacy group in Japan says about 40 percent of students in higher education are worried about a loss of income from part-time jobs because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The student advocacy group FREE conducted a survey of 149 people, including university and graduate students, from March 8 to April 10.

Taking a closer look at the number of new infections. Tokyo has logged a record number of cases for the fourth day in a row. Suspected in-hospital infections are occurring in other prefectures.

In the capital, a record 197 coronavirus cases of infection were confirmed on Saturday alone, bringing the total to over 1,900.

Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Group says it will supply 300 million face masks per month for Japan in a bid to ease the shortage.

SoftBank Group says under a deal with Chinese firm BYD, it will supply 200 million regular surgical masks and 100 million advanced masks called N95 respirator per month starting from May.

Japanese director Obayashi Nobuhiko, who produced a series of hit movies featuring youths in his hometown of Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, has died of lung cancer.

Obayashi died at his home in Tokyo on Friday. He was 82.

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Tokyo and other areas has soared, pushing the total in Japan to 6,854.

As of 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, 674 new cases were reported across the country.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has urged people around the country not to visit restaurants and bars operating at nighttime.

A month-long state of emergency was declared on Tuesday in seven prefectures based on a revised law.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says there were 197 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in the Japanese capital on Saturday.

That marks the fourth straight day the daily count has hit a new record high. There were 189 new cases on Friday, 178 on Thursday and 144 on Wednesday.

Downtowns across Japan were quiet on Saturday, the first weekend since the government declared the state of emergency in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

There were few people on Takeshita Street in Tokyo's Harajuku district, usually bustling with young people.

An official of the World Health Organization says Japan may need to take stronger measures to contain the coronavirus in areas with untraceable infections.

Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, spoke at a news conference in Geneva on Friday.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced six categories subject to business closure requests to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Governor Koike Yuriko said on Friday that the requests are issued to amusement facilities, universities and cram schools, sports and recreation facilities, theaters, event and exhibition venues and commercial facilities.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has outlined which businesses will be asked to shut down operations, starting Friday at 12 a.m., as part of the metropolitan government's policy to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The list includes all educational facilities, karaoke bars, pachinko parlors, sports clubs, theaters, internet cafes and game centers. Restaurants and bars can stay open, but they will be asked to close early each day.