Japan to extend virus emergency to mid-September

Bloomberg reports that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is poised to expand and extend for about another two weeks a virus state of emergency in Tokyo now set to expire at the end of August.

The decision to extend the emergency to mid-September could take place as soon as Tuesday. The emergency, currently in force in Tokyo and five other prefectures, will be expanded to include the western regions of Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka, the Sankei added.

Tokyo reported 4,295 new cases Sunday, while the country as a whole saw almost 18,000, just under a record of more than 20,000 reached last week. 

Japan’s states of emergency, which have few legal teeth, have become less effective in changing people’s behavior over time, and have had fewer economic implications. 

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters his feelings about the growth figures were “complicated,” given that the government’s top priority is to rein in the virus.

Suga has rejected the idea of a mandatory lockdown, saying it wouldn’t be accepted in Japan and that he would instead rely on a rapid vaccine rollout.