JAPAN is warning of a mysterious “explosion of coronavirus infections” after previously reporting low infection numbers and insisting the now cancelled Olympics could go ahead.

But this has aroused suspicion among its citizens that the government has been covering up the truth so it could stage the prestigious Games this summer.

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People cross intersections in the Shibuya area in Tokyo today Credit: AFP or licensors

What outbreak? People wear masks in Tokyo’s Harajuku entertainment district Credit: Alamy Live News

People walking by Shibuya station appear not be keeping social distancing Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Just a day after the 2020 Olympics were cancelled, officials warned Tokyo could be hit by an “explosive rise” in coronavirus infections after 41 new cases were reported in a single day, bringing the total there to 221.

In light of the sudden spike, the capital city’s governor Yuriko Koike today asked residents to avoid non-essential outings until April 12 to avoid spreading the virus further.

The sudden surge has come as a surprise internationally.

This is because Japan has so far maintained an infection rate lower than many other countries — astonishing given it neighbours China where the outbreak began.

But one reason for the relatively small numbers of confirmed cases is allegedly down to its lack of testing.

The recorded infections and tests are bizarrely low Koichi Nakano, a political analyst at Sophia University in Tokyo

Despite reportedly having the capacity to make 6,000 diagnostic tests per day, Japan has only tested about 14,000 to date, reports German news outlet DW.com.

This is reportedly 20 times fewer than hard hit neighbour South Korea which has seen 9,137 cases compared to 1,271 in Japan which has more than double its population.

And some have alleged the low testing rate was connected to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s desire to see the Olympics go ahead.

He has been said to have wanted the Games to showcase Japan’s resurgence under his leadership after the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 and the so-called “lost decades” of economic stagnation.

‘OLYMPICS BEHIND LOW REPORTED CORNA CASES’

Koichi Nakano, a political analyst at Sophia University in Tokyo, told the Times: “You can also see the Olympics behind Abe’s hands-off approach to the virus.

“The recorded infections and tests are bizarrely low.”

Today in Iwaki, Fukushima, visitors gathered for a “Flame of Recovery” ceremony that saw the Olympic Flame on display before it was transferred to a lantern at the Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium until next year when the Games will be staged.

But conspiracy theories are circulating around Japan that the government was covering up the extent of the spread of the virus.

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Barbara Holthus, a sociologist with the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, told DW.com: “After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the government initially refused to admit the reactor meltdowns.

“Today, there remains a great distrust of official statements.”

The Japanese Health Ministry has strongly denied the cover-up allegation and said it was conserving its resources so it can cope with a large-scale outbreak.

A comment piece in the Japanese Times said there were conspiracy theories circulating about alleging a widespread cover up, that people are dying in their homes, untested and untreated and given false death certificates.

But the article says: “It is, however, hard to believe that a nation’s worth of doctors would be, or could be, silent if the number of deaths we are seeing in Italy were occurring here.

“While an authoritarian government might dream of being able to control its population to that extent, the reality is unattainable; doctors would speak out to prevent deaths — we saw them speaking out in China, we’d see it here.”

More than 435,300 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 19,587 have died.

Crowds wearing protective masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, are seen at the Shinagawa station in Tokyo Credit: Reuters

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