The inflow of people into Tokyo exceeded the outflow by only 7,537 in fiscal 2020, compared with 83,455 in the previous year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.

For the first time in nine months, the number of people moving to Tokyo outnumbered those moving out in March, when the fiscal year ended, according to the data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

In the reporting month, the inflow exceeded the outflow by 27,803, but the figure was much lower than the 40,199 reported a year earlier.

The ministry attributed last month's rise in the influx to people relocating for new jobs and universities before the start of the new fiscal and academic years.

But the increase was not as large as usual as Tokyo has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases among the country's 47 prefectures. The capital was also under a second state of emergency for most of March.

In the month, Tokyo received 97,325 people from other prefectures, down 103,039 from a year earlier, while a total of 69,522 people left the capital, according to the data.