Emergency in Tokyo, other areas set to be extended

TOKYO • Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is poised to expand and extend for about two more weeks a virus state of emergency in Tokyo now set to expire at the end of August, the Sankei newspaper said.

The move to extend the emergency to mid-September could come as soon as today, the paper said. The Delta variant has swept across Japan, pushing the number of serious cases and patients in hospitals to records.

The emergency in force in Tokyo and five other prefectures will be expanded to include the western regions of Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka.

Tokyo had 4,295 new cases on Sunday, while the country as a whole saw almost 18,000, just under a record of more than 20,000 reached last week.

Eight deaths were reported nationally, said the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Under the existing measures, local governors can order bars and restaurants to close early and stop serving alcohol, but many businesses are flouting rules, despite the threat of fines.

Mr Suga has rejected the idea of a mandatory lockdown, saying it would not be accepted in Japan and that he would instead rely on a rapid vaccine roll-out.

About 37 per cent of Japan's population is fully immunised, with the government seeking to vaccinate all those who want the jabs by November, which is the deadline for holding the next election.

BLOOMBERG