Japan extends virus emergency until June 20, a month before Olympics

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Japan on Friday extended a virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of the country until June 20, just over a month before the Olympics.

“The number of new cases has been declining since the middle of the month but the situation continues to be uncertain,” said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, announcing the decision.

Tokyo and nine other parts of the country are currently under emergency orders which mostly involve closing bars and restaurants early and banning them from selling alcohol.

The emergency was supposed to expire at the end of May in most places, but the government now says it needs more time to control the fourth wave of infections.

“The overall level (of infections) continues to be very high,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of coronavirus response, said on Friday.

The move comes with Japan’s public still firmly opposed to holding the 2020 Games this summer. In recent weeks, leading businessmen and even a newspaper sponsoring the Olympics have called for the event to be canceled.

Overseas fans have already been banned, and a decision on domestic spectators is expected late next month. Even under the current state of emergency, sports venues in Japan are allowed to seat 5,000 spectators or 50 percent capacity, whichever is smallest.

Officials have been trying to drive home the message that the Games are on and will be safe, announcing recently that the vast majority of those in the Olympic village will be vaccinated.

They will be jumping the queue in Japan’s slow vaccine rollout, with jabs currently only available to medical workers and the elderly.

Just over six percent of the population has so far received the first dose, with less than 2.5 percent fully vaccinated.

Japan had seen a comparatively small virus outbreak, with around 12,500 deaths, enabling it to avoid harsh lockdowns.

But Suga’s government has faced criticism for its pandemic response, and polls show strong dissatisfaction with the vaccine rollout in particular.