Daily COVID deaths hit new record in Japan 

Japan reported a record 420 new coronavirus deaths on Thursday, one day after reaching an earlier single-day record of 415 deaths, according to the Health Ministry, Report informs, citing local media.

At a press conference on December 28, Takaji Wakita, who is both the chair of the specialist advisory board to the health ministry and head of Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said that the government is "paying close attention to the significant increase in deaths. Due to regional differences, further analysis is needed."