Tokyo, Dec 29 (IANS): Japan on Thursday reported 420 Covid-19 deaths, another high for a country that is going through the eighth wave of the pandemic.

The country reported 192,063 new coronavirus cases, down 24,146 from Wednesday, according to Japan Today.

Tokyo reported 18,372 new cases, down 1,871 from Wednesday.

The number of infected people hospitalised with severe symptoms in Tokyo was 47, down two from Wednesday, health officials said.

The nationwide figure was 565, down 12.

Japan on Wednesday recorded 415 Covid deaths.

The death toll from the coronavirus has reached over 56,000, with more than 28 million cases nationwide.

The resurgence of the Covid virus comes after the government in October removed its cap on daily foreign arrivals and its ban on individual travellers from abroad.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities asked Japan to remove restrictions on direct flights from the city.

Japan became one of the first countries to impose China-specific travel restrictions as infections surged across the mainland following the dismantling of Beijing's zero-Covid strategy.

Hong Kong's transport department said it was "greatly disappointed by Japanese authorities' hasty decision during the peak tourist season".

From Friday, Japan will also require on-arrival virus tests for passengers from China, but that will not apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau.

Hong Kong had followed a version of China's zero-Covid policy and imposed some of the strictest travel curbs in the world during the pandemic, which left the business hub isolated for more than two years.