Japan extends state of emergency until a month before Olympics

Japan on Friday extended a Covid-19 state of emergency in ten regions, including Tokyo, by three weeks to 20 June – a month before the Olympics begin.

Security guards keep watch next to the Olympic Rings in Tokyo. Kazuhiro NOGI AFP/File

Ongoing restrictions include a ban on restaurants serving alcohol, an 8pm curfew and a cap on the number of people who can attend sporting events and concerts.

While new infections have been in decline since mid-May, the number of hospital patients has reached record levels.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told journalists the situation “remained uncertain" ahead of the Games’ Opening Ceremony on 23 July.

Japan's government has extended the coronavirus state of emergency for 9 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, until June 20. The declaration was due to expire on Monday.https://t.co/YWhllIWRDZ pic.twitter.com/sMsyjtsOt7

— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) May 28, 2021

Japan’s 80,000 Olympic volunteers are particularly worried about the health situation, with many having resigned.

Slow progress in the country’s vaccination drive, combined with concerns over the emergence of new coronavirus variants, has increased public opposition to the Games. 

• Tokyo Olympics will go ahead even under state of emergency - IOC

• Top Japanese doctor warns Tokyo games could create 'Olympic' coronavirus variant

Japan has vaccinated just 4.1 percent of its population, the lowest rate among the world's wealthy countries, according to a Covid tracker by Reuters.

The European Union has pledged to deliver at least 100 million doses to Japan this year.

Several high profile Japanese figures from media and business have demanded the Olympics be cancelled, while a petition to the Tokyo city governor received hundreds of thousands of signatures.

Olympic organisers, however, say the Games – already postponed by a year – will be held safely under strict sanitary conditions.