Seniors at especially high risk as COVID-19 deaths surge in Osaka: Mainichi analysis January 13, 2021 (Mainichi Japan) Osaka Gov. speaks at a meeting of Osaka Prefecture's coronavirus countermeasures headquarters committee in the city of Osaka's Chuo Ward, on Jan. 12, 2021. (Mainichi/Ryuichi Mochizuki) OSAKA -- A Mainichi Shimbun analysis of spiking COVID-19 deaths in Osaka Prefecture has revealed extremely high mortality risks to people aged 60-plus in the western Japan prefecture. The Mainichi examined data related to the deaths, alongside the prefecture's own analysis and other information sources. Osaka Prefecture's total COVID-19 deaths reached 690 on Jan. 12, near parity with metropolitan Tokyo's 691, though the Japanese capital's population is about 1.6 times larger. Monthly fatalities also jumped from 78 in November to 259 in December -- roughly 1.9 times the 138 recorded for Tokyo.