AFP, Tokyo :
Japan will prolong a virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions and impose restrictions in more areas on Friday as cases surge less than three months before the Olympics.
The emergency measures, less strict than the blanket lockdowns seen in other countries, focus on limiting commercial activity with malls closed and bars and restaurants told to shut or stop serving alcohol.
They were imposed in Tokyo, Osaka and two other regions in late April – just weeks after a previous state of emergency was lifted – and had been due to end on May 11.
But the government is expected to extend the restrictions until the end of May and also impose them in Fukuoka and Aichi prefectures, where infections are spiking.
A formal announcement will be made later on Friday, with officials expected to ease some measures to allow department stores to reopen and a limited number of spectators at sports events.
Japan’s Covid-19 outbreak remains much smaller than in many countries, with around 10,000 deaths.
But its vaccine rollout is moving slowly and more infectious variants are driving fresh waves of contagion, with record case numbers seen in some regions and medics warning that hospitals are under strain.
Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura warned Thursday that “the situation of infections is very tough” and “the medical system is reaching breaking point”, saying he had requested an extension of the emergency measures.
