Japan's state of emergency measures extended until five weeks before Olympics

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has confirmed state of emergency measures will be extended to June 20 in nine prefectures, with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games due to begin a little over a month later.

The COVID-19 measures had been scheduled to expire on Monday (May 31) in Tokyo, Aichi, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Hokkaido, Hiroshima, Okayama and Osaka.

They have now been extended to June 20, the same date the state of emergency is scheduled to end in Okinawa.

Tokyo 2020's Opening Ceremony is looming large on July 23.

"Today, we have decided to extend the deadline of May 31 to June 20 for priority measures such as state of emergency and prevention of spread," Suga said at a press conference.

"The number of newly infected people nationwide has started to decrease since the middle of this month.

"However, the situation is still unpredictable.
"Infections are declining in Tokyo, Osaka, but the number of newly infected people is still at a high level.

"In Osaka, the sickbeds continue to be tight.

Please click here to read the rest of the article as it appears on the Inside the Games website.

Article written by: Michael Pavitt