Influenza is affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and rising rapidly among that nation's population of 124.5 million and overwhelming many healthcare providers and drugmakers.

By bno - Tokyo bureau Japan has seen a dramatic spike in flu cases, reaching the highest levels since record-keeping began in 1999. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, influenza cases across the country surged to a staggering 317,

In the week through Dec. 29, the total number of reported flu cases was nearly three times the number from the same period in 2023.

Japan in the last week of December experienced the biggest influenza outbreak since comparable data became available 25 years ago, health authorities

The agriculture ministry said the outbreak was confirmed after the farm reported increasing deaths among its chickens

Japanese authorities have started culling around 50,000 chickens after a bird flu outbreak was reported at a farm in the northern Iwate region. This is the 19th such incident this season, Japan's Agriculture Ministry said.

The farm reported rising poultry deaths, with tests confirming bird flu; the U.S. and England also reported cases.