Japan's daily COVID-19 cases remain in the 4,000s... Tokyo emergency declaration likely to be extended

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan continues to show little sign of decline.

According to NHK on the 6th, the number of newly confirmed cases nationwide reached 4,732, exceeding 4,000 for the fourth consecutive day. Although this is a decrease compared to the weekly average of 4,805 cases per day, it is attributed to the holiday effect.

Norihisa Tamura, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, diagnosed this as "an effect of reduced testing during the holidays," and analyzed that there is a possibility of a sharp increase in new cases going forward.

In response, the governors of four metropolitan areas?Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, and Tokyo?requested the central government in the afternoon to extend the state of emergency. Originally, the Japanese government had declared a state of emergency for these four regions until the 11th.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga stated, "We will hold an expert meeting on the 7th to hear opinions and decide on the duration and target areas." The extension period of the state of emergency is expected to be between two weeks and one month.

Meanwhile, as of this day, Japan's cumulative number of COVID-19 cases totaled 622,794, with 60 new deaths reported in a single day.