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A woman walks past a mural paying tribute to nurses near a hospital in Dallas on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Published: 3:05am, 8 Apr 2020Updated: 9:55pm, 8 Apr 2020

Tokyo recorded 144 coronavirus infections on Wednesday, its biggest daily jump since the start of the pandemic, public broadcaster NHK said, without citing sources on the first day of a state of emergency aimed at containing the outbreak.

Total infections in the Japanese capital stand at 1,339, NHK said, for an increase that would carry the nationwide tally beyond 4,600, including 98 deaths, based on numbers it published earlier in the day.

The number of infections is still far smaller than in many European countries and the United States, but a steady rise in some areas prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare the emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and five other hard-hit prefectures.

A day after it was announced, commuters heading to work packed into trains in Tokyo, with some expressing confusion over how best to restrict their movements.

“It’s unavoidable that people have to come out for work,” said Risa Tanaka, an office worker wearing a mask near the Shinjuku station, who said she usually tried to work at home, but had stepped out to deliver some documents.

Japan’s month-long virus emergency gives regional governors more power to press businesses to close, but will add to pains inflicted on the world’s third-largest economy from supply chain disruptions and travel bans.