SLUG: breaking-asia-pacific-japan-covid-surge-june5-2026
Japan is grappling with its largest COVID-19 wave in nearly two years, as a new Omicron subvariant spreads rapidly across the country and pushes hospital capacity to the brink in several prefectures. Health authorities reported more than 280,000 new cases in the past week — the highest weekly total since August 2022 — with the XBB.1.16 strain accounting for more than 60 percent of sequenced infections.
The surge has prompted the government to re-impose voluntary mask-wearing recommendations in crowded indoor settings and reinstate limited visitor restrictions at hospitals in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held an emergency task force meeting on Thursday and urged eligible citizens to receive second booster shots before the summer holiday season begins.
Japan’s healthcare system is under particular pressure because of an existing shortage of nurses following pandemic-era attrition and a wave of influenza cases that arrived earlier than usual this year. The Japan Medical Association warned that ICUs in at least four prefectures were operating above 85 percent capacity and called on the government to consider reclassifying COVID-19 as a less severe category under national infectious disease law.
Unlike previous waves, Japan’s caseload is rising as much of the population has returned to near-normal social behaviour, with mask usage declining sharply since the government downgraded COVID-19 to a less restrictive classification in May. The timing of the surge just weeks ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima — which Japan is hosting — has added political urgency to the response.
China, which maintains strict zero-COVID controls at its border with Japan, has not yet announced any changes to its entry rules in response to the domestic surge. South Korea, which shares an airline corridor with Japan, reported a 34 percent week-on-week increase in imported cases linked to travel from Japan.
Public health experts warn the current wave could peak in late June before receding, though the emergence of further subvariants remains a wildcard. Japan’s vaccination rate among people over 65 — the most vulnerable group — stands at approximately 90 percent for two doses but below 65 percent for booster doses.
Sources: NHK, Japan Times, Kyodo News, Jiji Press, Reuters, BBC.
Written by Kenji Tanaka, Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief
Kenji Tanaka
Kenji Tanaka covers Asia Pacific security, technology, and geopolitics from Tokyo.