Japan expands virus emergency after record spikes amid Tokyo Games

Published
0

Japan has expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to four more areas in addition to Tokyo following record spikes in infections as the capital hosts the Olympics, AP reports.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared an emergency in Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, near Tokyo, as well as in the western city of Osaka, effective from Monday until August 31.

Emergency measures already in place in Tokyo and the southern island of Okinawa will be extended until the end of August, after the Olympics and well into the Paralympics which start on Aug 24.

Five other areas, including Hokkaido, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka, will be placed under less-stringent emergency restrictions.

Read more here.

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk around Otsuka Station in Tokyo, Japan, July 30. — AP
People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk around Otsuka Station in Tokyo, Japan, July 30. — AP

Opinion

Editorial

Talks, at last
Updated 03 Oct, 2026

Talks, at last

The government’s constant threats to suspend KP’s elected dispensation over a political protest have escalated hostilities considerably. In that context, both sides did well to start talking.
IWT’s future
03 Oct, 2026

IWT’s future

TOGETHER with the Kashmir dispute, India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty has become the biggest...
Pained minds
03 Oct, 2026

Pained minds

IN Pakistan, mental healthcare is wedged between two extremes — a luxury or a stigma. Estimates cited by the...
Risks ahead
Updated 02 Oct, 2026

Risks ahead

To think that the government would rather push out an elected government than grant a single prisoner some facilities does not square up rationally.
Exit from Iraq
02 Oct, 2026

Exit from Iraq

AMERICAN and British troops have once again shipped out of Iraq. On Wednesday, the foreign forces left the Arab...
Lahore’s ozone warning
02 Oct, 2026

Lahore’s ozone warning

LAHORE has received another warning that its air pollution crisis cannot be treated as a problem that begins with...