Osaka and Aichi prefectures report their highest daily virus count

Tokyo reported 250 new cases today, consistent with the recent rise but the number of new virus cases in Osaka surpassed 200 for the first time as the prefecture reported over 220 new cases today, according to NHK.

Meanwhile, Aichi reported a record 155 new virus cases as well with 93 of those stemming from the city of Nagoya. As of yesterday, Japan as a whole reported 981 new cases - the most since the pandemic began in the country.

Japan

In the context of markets in general, this may feed into worsening consumer sentiment and consumption activity. That may lead to slumping domestic conditions and weigh on Japanese firms' profitability, in turn providing an added tailwind for the yen currency.