Japan is currently under a bout of influenza with the disease rapidly spreading especially among children, media reports from Tokyo said on Friday.
According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, an estimated 1.4 million people have caught the flu in the week ended January 20. The average number of patients per hospital was over 22, which was 1.9 times more than that reported a week ago.
Quoting the Health Ministry, Japan's NHK broadcaster reported that more than 2,000 schools and classes across the country were closed or canceled last week due to the epidemic. Elementary schools top the list with 1,124 followed by junior high schools with 593 and kindergartens with 222.
Yoshinori Yasui, a senior researcher at the Institute, says the flu has been spreading fast especially among children. He recommends precautionary measures such as hand washing and wearing masks in public places to check the spread of the disease.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Political News
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.