Japan Considers Full Lifting of COVID-19 State of Emergency... Decision on 28th

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the increase in COVID-19 cases in Japan slows down, it appears that the state of emergency will be fully lifted.

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 27th, the Japanese government is reportedly finalizing plans to completely lift the COVID-19 state of emergency, which is currently in effect in 19 out of the 47 prefectures nationwide, by the deadline of the 30th of this month.

The report states that the Japanese government will consult an expert panel on the 28th regarding this plan and is expected to make an official decision at the COVID-19 task force meeting on the same day.

The "Priority Measures to Prevent Spread," a level of quarantine measure lower than the state of emergency, is currently in effect in 8 regions; the government is also considering fully lifting these measures and not imposing them in areas where the state of emergency is lifted.

The Japanese government is reviewing the easing of quarantine measures as the number of new COVID-19 cases has significantly decreased recently.

As of the 26th, the number of new cases in Japan over the past week (according to NHK data) was 17,728, averaging about 2,533 cases per day.

Compared to a month ago on the 26th of last month, when the weekly new cases were 161,295, this represents a reduction to about one-ninth.

According to a statement from the Japanese Prime Minister's Office, as of the 23rd of this month, 55.8% of Japan's population has completed two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The percentage of those who have received at least one dose is recorded at 67.8%.

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