Over 18,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus infection were confirmed nationwide on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 15,812 set a day earlier.
Tokyo logged 4,989 new cases of infection with the novel coronavirus the same day, the second-largest figure in the capital so far.
Thursday's tally in the capital was just 53 below the record 5,042 on Aug. 5.
The number of people seriously ill from COVID-19 in the capital rose by 21 from Wednesday to a record 218, exceeding 200 for the first time.
Over the past three days, the number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients has increased by 61, sending the figure well over the peak of 160 observed during the third wave of the pandemic in January.
Six people in their 50s to 80s were confirmed to have died in Tokyo on Thursday from the virus.
In Osaka Prefecture, 1,654 new cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed on the day. This marked the second day in a row that infections have reached a record high for the prefecture. The figure Wednesday was 1,490.
Four people died of the virus on the day, according to the Osaka prefectural government.
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