Japan recorded at least 135 confirmed H1N1 infections by Monday evening and closed more than 2,000 schools and kindergartens across the Kobe-Osaka region, where cases have climbed sharply since Saturday, when the first domestic transmission was confirmed.
Health officials believe actual infections may already number in the hundreds. The index domestic case was a 17-year-old Kobe student who had not traveled abroad. Authorities suspect the virus moved between the two cities after high school students from Kobe and Osaka competed at a volleyball tournament, with players and coaches developing fever in the days that followed.
The scale of the outbreak raises the likelihood that the World Health Organization will elevate its pandemic alert to level six, the maximum tier, which would signal sustained community spread in a region outside the Americas.
Prime Minister Taro Aso, speaking after an emergency cabinet session, called for calm and said most patients recover well with early care, while noting that people with chronic conditions such as diabetes face heightened risk. The government ruled out any immediate limits on public movement.
Greater Tokyo, home to nearly 36 million people and the world's most populous urban area, has reported no cases. Japan's first confirmed infections this month involved four travelers who returned from North America and were quarantined along with roughly 50 fellow passengers.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2009, in its own words.