Japan Plans To Introduce State Of Emergency In 4 Prefectures Until August 31 - Minister

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) Japan intends to declare states of emergency in four prefectures and extend existing ones in Tokyo and Okinawa until August 31, Kyodo news reported citing Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is spearheading the country's pandemic response.

The state of emergency should go into effect in Osaka and three prefectures neighboring Tokyo � Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba � until August 31, the minster told the panel of experts. In Tokyo and Okinawa, where it was introduced on July 12 and was due to end on August 22, the state of emergency is also expected to be extended until August 31.

The proposal comes following the recent unprecedented increase in COVID-19 cases. In the past day, Japan registered 10,699 COVID-19 cases - a record number since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Tokyo, where the Summer Olympics kicked off on July 23, the daily increase is hitting records for the third day in a row. As of Thursday, 3,865 cases had been detected.

Meanwhile, the representatives of the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike deny a possible link between the rapid increase in coronavirus infections in Japan and the ongoing games.