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Japan set to extend virus emergency for Tokyo, other regions to June 20

Other News Materials 28 May 2021 06:31 (UTC +04:00)
Japan set to extend virus emergency for Tokyo, other regions to June 20

The Japanese government on Friday will likely extend COVID-19 emergency measures in place for Tokyo and and eight other prefectures for another three weeks until June 20, local media reported, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

The state of emergency currently in place for the nine prefectures has seen restrictions imposed on restaurants and bars, requiring them to close at 8 p.m. and refrain from serving alcohol and people urged to work from home and refrain from crossing prefectural lines.

Large spectator events, meanwhile, have had the number of spectators capped at 5,000 people or 50 percent of the venue's capacity.

In Tokyo, movie theaters and department stores have also been requested to shutter operations.

The extended restrictions will stay in place for Tokyo, Hokkaido, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima and Fukuoka prefectures.

Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, the last region to be put under a state of emergency, will see the deadline expire as per the initial measure on June 20.

After consulting a panel of experts and formalizing the decision at a task force meeting Friday evening, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is slated to explain the extension and the reasoning at a press conference in the evening.

"On the whole, the situation is highly unpredictable," Suga, following a meeting with his Cabinet, told reporters on Thursday.

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