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The move, which comes less than three months before the capital hosts the Olympics, will add the industrial region of Aichi and the southern prefecture of Fukuoka to areas subject to restrictions. With Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto already under the state of emergency, the expanded measure would cover about 40% of the population and most major urban areas. Milder restrictions would be extended or applied in eight other regions.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has said he would make a formal decision by Friday, plans to hold a news conference at 7 p.m. A slow vaccine rollout, which has so far reached less than 2% of the population, has left the premier with few tools to control the pace of infections, with the Olympics set to open July 23.
EU Sees Vaccine Rollout on Target; Japan Emergency: Virus Update Bloomberg 12 mins ago Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) The European Union was on track to achieve a target of procuring enough vaccines for 70% of all adults by July, according to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Several nations across the continent were planning to loosen restrictions in the next few weeks, with Hungary and Germany tying some privileges to having received a shot. Cyprus announced new lockdown measures.
Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures, in an attempt to control the latest outbreak and preserve the country’s plans for the Summer Olympics.