Japanese Government Moves to Lift COVID-19 'State of Emergency' Simultaneously in Tokyo and 18 Other Regions

Prime Minister Suga to Make Final Decision at Policy Meeting on the 28th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Japan will lift all states of emergency issued to curb the spread of COVID-19 in October.

According to Kyodo News on the 27th, the Japanese government has decided to lift the state of emergency in 19 regions, including Tokyo, out of the 47 prefectures nationwide. In addition, the government will also lift the "priority measures to prevent the spread," which is a lower-level measure than the state of emergency, in 8 regions where it is currently applied.

This will be the first time since April 4 that all COVID-19 related states of emergency and other measures have been lifted in Japan. Notably, Tokyo will be freed from the state of emergency after about 80 days since July 12.

The Japanese government plans to finalize this easing measure after gathering expert opinions on the 28th, reporting to the National Diet, and deciding at a task force meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. This decision is seen as a political move by Prime Minister Suga to leave a legacy before his resignation.

After a meeting with officials including Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura on the evening of the same day, Prime Minister Suga told reporters, "The number of infections is decreasing significantly," and added, "I will consult experts tomorrow and make a final decision."

Prime Minister Suga, who decided not to run in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election on the 29th and will step down after one year in office, will hold his final press conference on the 28th to announce the lifting of the state of emergency and related matters.

Japan's daily new COVID-19 cases, which exceeded 25,000 per day in August due to the spread of the Delta variant, have decreased to an average of about 2,500 per day over the past week until the 26th. Furthermore, the Japanese government has decided to ease quarantine measures for incoming travelers starting from the 1st of next month, applying the relaxation to vaccinated individuals.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan is 57.2% of the total population, and those who have received at least one dose account for 68.7%.

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