Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on Thursday as the number of new cases falls and the strain on the medical system eases, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura has said.

The plan, approved by a government advisory panel, takes Japan as a whole out of an emergency state for the first time in nearly six months.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold a news conference to announce the decision after the plan is formalised by a government task force.

Read more from Reuters here.

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