TOKYO (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS) - A virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of Japan was extended on Friday (May 7), less than three months before the Olympics, with restrictions also imposed in more regions as cases surge.
The emergency measures, less strict than blanket lockdowns in other countries, had been due to end on May 11 but will now continue until the end of the month, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.
"The number of new virus cases is at a high level in major cities, while hospitals continue to be overwhelmed in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures," Mr Suga said.
"Based on this situation, we decided to add Aichi and Fukuoka to the areas under the state of emergency and to extend it until May 31."
Japan's Covid-19 outbreak remains much smaller than in many countries, with just over 10,500 deaths.
But its vaccine rollout is moving slowly and some areas have seen record cases as more infectious variants drive fresh waves of contagion.
Earlier, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is also in charge of pandemic measures, said variant strains of the virus were spreading rapidly and the government was worried Tokyo could also run out of hospital beds soon.
Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura also warned that the western region's medical system is "reaching breaking point", with public broadcaster reporting 14 Covid-19 patients from a nursing home had died while waiting to be hospitalised.
Extended measures
The government also placed Aichi, home to Toyota Motor Corp, and Fukuoka, a prefecture in the southwest under the state of emergency. They join Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto, where current measures began on April 25.
The northern island of Hokkaido and two other prefectures were added to regions under a "quasi state of emergency" now totalling eight of Japan's 47 prefectures.
Under the extended state of emergency, bars, restaurants, karaoke parlours and other places serving alcohol will remain closed, while people will be urged to avoid taking unnecessary trips.
But other restrictions will be loosened. Big commercial facilities such as shopping malls will be allowed to re-open but for shorter hours - though Mr Nishimura noted that Tokyo and Osaka prefecture would make their own decisions based on their conditions.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told a news conference details of Tokyo's measures would come later on Friday.
'Protect our lives'
More than 10,000 athletes from 200 countries and regions are due to take part in the pandemic-postponed 2020 Olympics.
Games president Seiko Hashimoto said on Friday the organising committee would "welcome" a visit by IOC president Thomas Bach this month, but that it would be "very difficult" to arrange given the prolonged state of emergency.
Japan's government and Games organisers insist the event will go ahead safely - although polls show most Japanese people support cancellation or another delay.
More than 210,000 people have signed an online petition titled "Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives", launched on Wednesday by a lawyer and former Tokyo gubernatorial candidate.
And a hospital in western Tokyo put up signs in its windows saying "Olympics impossible!", with the facility's chief telling the Asahi Shimbun daily its nurses were already overburdened.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Thursday announced a deal with the International Olympic Committee to provide vaccines to competitors and staff at the Tokyo Games.
But Japan's own vaccine programme is progressing cautiously, with under one percent of the population having received two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, the only jab authorised so far.
World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe, who attended a scaled-back rehearsal for the Olympic marathon in the northern city of Sapporo on Wednesday, said on Friday he recognised the "challenging times" faced by Japan.
"The safety of our athletes is important to us, but also the safety of the local community," he told reporters in Tokyo, noting that athletes at the marathon test had found the virus countermeasures "comforting".
The pandemic has disrupted Olympic test events, with several postponed, cancelled or moved abroad.
But the Diving World Cup and a rowing qualifier went ahead this week in Tokyo with athletes from overseas, with Tokyo 2020 organisers calling the diving event "very successful".
All participants fully complied with the measures in place, Tokyo 2020 organisers said in a statement after the six-day event, at which 224 athletes took part.
Several sections of the torch relay have also been moved off-road to prevent people gathering to watch.
Fukuoka's governor said he wants it to be pulled from public roads when it passes through the region next week.
Organisers for the Tokyo Games are yet to decide how many fans - if any - will be allowed at the Games, with overseas spectators already barred from attending.
