Authorities of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture on August 15 confirmed that a man aged 57 has died of the new strain of influenza, marking the first death from the pandemic disease in the country.

The victim lived in Okinawa prefecture and suffered from heart and kidney illness, according to Kyodo News.

More than 4,000 patients have been confirmed to be infected with the new influenza since the first case was detected in the country in May.

Also the same day, its neighbour RoK reported the first death from A/H1N1 influenza after a man, who found to be infected with the H1N1 virus, has died.

The deceased was a man in his 50s who recently returned from a trip to Thailand, Yonhap news agency reported, adding that three days after returning home on August 8, he had high fever and was admitted to a local hospital as his health condition deteriorated.