Emergency extension to be decided on Friday

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says he may extend the coronavirus state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo Area by about two weeks.

He plans to make a final decision at a task force meeting on Friday, based on opinions from a panel of experts.

Suga spoke to reporters on Wednesday after discussing the situation with the minister in charge of the country's coronavirus response, Nishimura Yasutoshi, and health minister Tamura Norihisa.

The state of emergency is due to expire on Sunday in Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba.

Suga said the occupancy rate of hospital beds in those prefectures should be 50 percent or below and keep declining. He added new infection numbers have not fallen far enough.

The government will make a final decision while consulting with governors of the four affected prefectures, based on a comprehensive assessment of the situation.

As the scheduled ending date of the declaration approaches, the government says it has indicated its course of action ahead of time, taking into consideration possible effects on restaurants and bars.

However, some government and ruling party officials say the government wanted to show that it has made its own judgment before receiving extension requests from the prefectural governors.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210304_05/