Tokyo's excess deaths far higher than COVID-19 count, data shows

Lack of testing and delayed numbers take blame for possible undercount

Tokyo officially recorded 16 deaths from coronavirus in the five weeks starting Feb. 17, potentially undercounting by 50 to 60 deaths a week over that period. (Photo by Kei Higuchi)

AKIRA MAEMURA, Nikkei social security editor, and SORA TAKAHASHI, Nikkei staff writer

May 25, 2020 06:39 JST

TOKYO -- The Japanese capital may have suffered more than 200 excess fatalities from pneumonia and other causes early in the outbreak, possibly dwarfing the period's official coronavirus death count of 16.