The move is understood to be aimed at easing burdens on hospitals and wrestling back prominence as a leader, in the public eye, from Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.
Suga to announce two-week extension to state of emergency in Tokyo area japantimes.co.jp - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantimes.co.jp Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, center, who heads the central government s effort to deal with COVID-19, holds a news conference on Jan. 2 with the four governors of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has decided to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency for four prefectures in the Tokyo metropolitan area for two weeks beyond the March 7 deadline, several government sources said.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and her counterparts from Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures have all warned that the pace of decline in new COVID-19 cases has slowed and that a resurgence in cases could be on the horizon.