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Japan Extends State of Emergency in Tokyo Area Until March 21
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The Japanese government announced on Friday that it will extend the current COVID-19 state of emergency declaration in four prefectures in the Tokyo area — including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama — until March 21. The state of emergency was previously planned to lift on Sunday (one day before the Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time film opens in Japan).
The Japanese government declared the current state of emergency in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba on January 8. The Japanese government expanded the state of emergency to seven more prefectures on January 13. The state of emergency was planned to end on February 7, but was extended until March 7 in Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Aichi, Fukuoka, Gifu, Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba prefectures. The state of emergency covered eight of Japan's 10 most populous prefectures and over half of the nation's population.
The government lifted the state of emergency in six prefectures including Aichi, Gifu, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, and Fukuoka on March 1.
Japan started its COVID-19 vaccination plan on February 17, and is currently prioritizing medical workers. The second phase of the plan will start on April 12 to include elderly people.
Source: NHK World (Mari Sakamoto)
