. TOKYO – Three U.S. military bases in Japan reported 57 new coronavirus cases as of 6 p.m. Wednesday as the year staggered to a close. December has emerged as Japan’s worst month of the pandemic, far surpassing the country's previous records for new infections and deaths. A record high 1,110 people have died in Japan so far this month, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, and a record 74,824 new infections were identified. In Tokyo, the virus produced another 944 newly infected people Wednesday, five shy of the city’s pandemic daily record of 949 set Saturday, according to public broadcaster NHK. Nearly 800 people per day in the city of 13.5 million have tested positive during the final week of December, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Government data.