Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the state of emergency in the Tokyo region will end on Sunday after targets for relieving strain on the health care system were reached, even as coronavirus cases in the capital rose slightly.
Suga told his virus task force Thursday the government will be carefully watching the situation to prevent a fresh surge in infections as he set an end to the measure that had been in place for more than two months in a region where about 36 million people live.
While Tokyo recorded 409 new cases on Wednesday, the highest figure since Feb. 18, an expert panel approved the lifting of the restrictions.
“The number of new cases is flat, or on a slightly upward trend, so there are concerns about a rebound,” Suga told his virus task force. “We have decided on measures based on five pillars to prevent another spread after the emergency is lifted.”
The five pillars will be preventing infections related to eating out; strengthening monitoring for mutations; strategic testing; the rollout of vaccines and strengthening the health care system, Suga added.
Tokyo and the adjoining prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba were the last to be kept under the emergency measure, which was imposed after a record surge of cases in January, and ended in other areas of the country earlier this month.
{{/usCountry}}Tokyo and the adjoining prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba were the last to be kept under the emergency measure, which was imposed after a record surge of cases in January, and ended in other areas of the country earlier this month.
{{/usCountry}}Lifting the measure nationwide is a symbolic gesture of optimism just days before the torch relay begins on March 25 for the virus-delayed Tokyo Olympics, now scheduled to start in July. Relaxing controls before a significant number of Japanese have been vaccinated may leave the country vulnerable to another wave of infections.
About 420,000 of Japan’s 126 million population had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Wednesday. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Thursday the government would step up testing and monitoring for virus mutants, and would warn people to avoid events like the cherry-blossom parties traditionally held in the spring.