Japanese Government Advisory Panel: "Early Lifting of 'COVID-19' Emergency State is Justified"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Japanese government is planning to lift the state of emergency for COVID-19 from a total of 39 prefectures, including Ichihara and Fukuoka Prefecture, according to a report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 14th.

The state of emergency, which was first declared on April 7 in seven metropolitan areas including Tokyo, will see its first lifting of the emergency designation since its declaration.

According to the report, the "Basic Response Policy Advisory Committee," which advises the government on COVID-19, expressed the opinion that the government's plan to lift the state of emergency early for 39 out of the 47 prefectures nationwide is reasonable.

Accordingly, after completing the reporting procedure to the National Diet in the afternoon, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to hold a task force meeting and announce the early lifting of the state of emergency by region. The state of emergency was originally scheduled to last until the end of this month.

The areas targeted for lifting the state of emergency include five prefectures: Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi, and Fukuoka, as well as 34 prefectures that were not included in the specific alert zones.

However, eight prefectures?Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Kyoto, and Hyogo?will maintain the state of emergency due to the necessity of the medical care system, despite a downward trend in the number of infections.

The Japanese government plans to review the list of prefectures for lifting the state of emergency by the 21st, based on expert opinions.

Meanwhile, if infections resurge after the lifting of the state of emergency, the government intends to promptly re-designate the affected areas under the state of emergency.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.