Photo/Illutration The Tokyo metropolitan government building complex in the capital's Shinjuku district (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The daily number of fresh COVID-19 cases for the entire nation topped 100,000 for only the second time ever on July 15, as the seventh wave of infections continued to spread around Japan.

As of 6 p.m., there were 103,287 cases reported by prefectural governments. The only other time the daily tally topped 100,000 was Feb. 5, when there were 104,163 cases.

Tokyo had 19,059 new cases, according to metropolitan government officials. It was more than double the figure for the previous Friday in the capital.

Osaka prefectural officials said there were 9,745 new cases on July 15, the 10th straight day in which new cases more than doubled week-on-week.

Meanwhile, three prefectures in the main southern island of Kyushu--Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima--set daily records on July 15. Fukuoka had 6,356 cases, Kumamoto logged 2,643 and Kagoshima tallied 1,599.

Daily records were also set in Wakayama Prefecture in central Japan and Aomori in northern Japan.

Officials in Tokyo reported two deaths linked to COVID-19. For the week ending July 15, the daily average of new cases in the capital was 12,791.3, which was more than double the average for the previous week.