A panel of experts with Japan's health ministry says the coronavirus is on the march again, with the number of infections up for the past two weeks.

The experts reported new cases nationwide were up 8 percent in the week through Tuesday compared to the previous week. Thirty-four of Japan's 47 prefectures have reported increases in new infections.

Japan's Health Minister Goto Shigeyuki said, "The tally continues to rise in some areas. But it appears new cases in other areas are leveling off. We need to keep a close watch on the infection situation."

Tokyo reported more than 8,600 new cases on Wednesday. That's down about 900 from a week ago. But the trend was opposite in the country as a whole. There were more than 54,000 cases nationwide. That's an increase of more than 1,000 from a week ago.