Earlier this week, reports stated that the Japanese government was considering ending the quasi-state of emergency as scheduled on Monday March 21. The current emergency measures, which were extended for an additional two weeks at the beginning of March, are still in place in 18 prefectures across Japan including Tokyo.
As reported by Kyodo News, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced at a press conference on March 16 that emergency restrictions will be lifted as planned. The lift was officially approved by a government panel earlier today (March 17). NHK reports that the plan was officially confirmed at a government meeting this evening. Note that this does not mean the quasi-state of emergency will end early – it is simply not being extended beyond March 21.
The removal of emergency measures follows the recent decline in new Covid-19 infections. While hospital bed occupancy rates are still high, they are also expected to drop as new case numbers decline. This will be the first time since January 8 that no prefectures have been under any form of emergency declaration.
The quasi-emergency measures will be lifted in the following 18 prefectures on Monday March 21:
- Aichi
- Aomori
- Chiba
- Gifu
- Gunma
- Hokkaido
- Hyogo
- Ibaraki
- Ishikawa
- Kagawa
- Kanagawa
- Kumamoto
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Saitama
- Shizuoka
- Tochigi
- Tokyo
As of Thursday March 17, there were 10,080 new Covid-19 infections recorded in Tokyo.
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