On Saturday Tokyo’s governor asked Japan’s central government to declare
a new state of emergency as the country battles a third wave of the coronavirus, with
record numbers of new cases.
Japanese officials have in recent weeks asked restaurants and businesses to
close early and urged people to stay at home, measures that Koike said were having “some effect”.
“But considering the number of cases and the situation of the medical system in
Tokyo and the three neighbouring prefectures, we decided it was necessary to
immediately and thoroughly curb the movement of people,” she told reporters
The government has been reluctant to impose a new state of emergency,
for fear of the economic impact.
The new spike in infections comes little more than six months before
Tokyo is set to host the virus-delayed Olympic Games.
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