Japan's health ministry said it's ready to respond to up to 900,000 coronavirus and influenza patients a day in the event of a double outbreak.
The ministry, earlier, estimated that daily coronavirus cases would reach a peak of 450,000, and the number of people contracting influenza would rise to 300,000 per day.
NHK has learned that records of the dissection of more than 1,000 leprosy patients after their deaths are being kept at national sanatoriums in Japan.
The public broadcaster carried out a survey of 12 sanatoriums after an institution in Kumamoto Prefecture said in September that its records show the bodies of at least 389 of its residents were dissected.
A group of cancer patients across Japan has asked the government to ensure that they can receive care amid concern that hospitals are under growing strain due to the surge in coronavirus cases.
The Japan Federation of Cancer Patient Groups wrote in a letter to the government that if the pandemic continues putting strains on the healthcare system, treatment for cancer patients may be canceled or suspended. This could result in a severe deterioration of patients' health.
People with intractable diseases in Japan want the government to ensure sufferers of all illnesses can receive care during the coronavirus pandemic, which is putting an increasing burden on the medical system.
The Japan Patients Association, which comprises 93 organizations of patients with intractable or chronic illnesses, submitted an urgent request earlier this week.
Japan's hospitals are under strain as the number of patients with COVID-19 continues to rise.
Hospital bed occupancy rates topped 30 percent in seven of the 47 prefectures in Japan.
A memorial ceremony has been held in Tokyo for former leprosy patients who died after years of discrimination.
The Japanese government organizes the annual event that is usually held on June 22.
A new survey shows that an increasing number of cancer patients have refrained from going to see doctors amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But it also shows that some were able to cope with anxiety with better information.
A hospital in Japan is using a robot to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The device is linked to a system that enables doctors and nurses to check on inpatients without having to enter their wards.
The number of seriously ill coronavirus patients in Japan stood at 90 on Thursday. The figure has tripled in the past three weeks.
By prefecture, Tokyo had the highest number at 22, followed by 16 in Osaka and 10 in Kanagawa.
Honda is lending 10 of its specially modified Odyssey minivans to Detroit in an effort to help the hard-hit city safely transport people who may be infected with the coronavirus for testing.
Honda delivered the minivans Tuesday. They've been retrofitted with a clear and airtight plastic panel between the front and rear seats by removing the hand grips on the B-pillar and replacing them with brackets, and with a second bracket added to the lower front seat belt anchor point for a total of three attachments on each side. Honda also tweaked the ventilation system to maintain an air pressure differential between the front and rear compartments and minimize the chances for infected droplets to migrate between the two during transport.
Japan's government plans to investigate reports that many hospitals are refusing to admit people suspected of having the coronavirus.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency will survey 52 fire departments in Tokyo and other big cities. The survey will ask them how many times their ambulances have been turned away by four or more hospitals.
Tokyo's Keio University Hospital says roughly six percent of its non-coronavirus patients have tested positive for the virus.
Hospital officials say 67 patients underwent pre-surgery or pre-hospitalization screening last week. None of them had coronavirus symptoms, but four of them tested positive.
An NHK survey has found that people in Tokyo who were suspected of contracting the coronavirus have had to wait for up to a week before they were able to get tested for it.
NHK asked public health centers in the 23 Tokyo wards about how long it took for possible virus carriers to receive PCR tests after health officials concluded that they had to be tested.
The Japanese Nursing Association has asked the government to pay special allowances to nurses for the risks they face in taking care of coronavirus patients.
The association sent a request letter to Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Kato Katsunobu on Wednesday.