Photo/Illutration Passengers preparing to pass through the security checkpoint to board domestic flights have their temperatures checked at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. (Shiro Nishihata)

With a nine-fold increase in less than a month, Japan has confirmed more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus infection, clear evidence that greater efforts are needed to contain the epidemic.

In Tokyo, authorities confirmed 181 new cases on April 18.

The first confirmation of a coronavirus infection in Japan was in mid-January when a man in his 30s residing in Kanagawa Prefecture returned from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak is believed to have started.

It took more than a month, or until late February, before the number of infections topped 100. But from then on, the pace accelerated rapidly. Another month was needed before the number of cases topped 1,000, but the tally now exceeds 10,000 in the space of under a month.

The first coronavirus-linked death, on Feb. 13, involved a woman in her 80s who resided in Kanagawa Prefecture.

As of 11 p.m. on April 17, there were 207 fatalities across Japan, excluding the 13 passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined at Yokohama Port who died as a result of the coronavirus.

With the spread of the coronavirus, the government requested all schools in Japan to close on Feb. 27.

On April 7, a state of emergency declaration was issued for the seven prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka. It is set to last until May 6.

On April 16, the state of emergency was expanded to cover the entire nation.

Until April 17, The Asahi Shimbun had included the number of coronavirus infections stemming from the Diamond Princess in its daily tallies.

However, the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare have been counting the number of infections in each nation by excluding cruise ship passengers. The Asahi will follow that standard from now on.