Japan Is About To Lift Its State Of Emergency In Tokyo

It is likely that the Japanese government will lift its emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding area, as the city will only recognize two cases of COVID-19 on May 23.

According to NHK and domestic media, Japan will lift its state of emergency for Tokyo, its vicinity and the northern part of Hokaido Island on May 25.

On May 23, the city of 14 million people in Tokyo recorded only 2 cases of acute respiratory infections (COVID-19). This is the lowest number since Japan declared a national emergency in early April.

NHK said that if this trend continues in May 24 through specific data statistics, the government plans to end the national emergency.

Currently, the Tokyo government is monitoring the situation through seven indicators, including the number of new cases in the last week and the positive rate on the total number of cases tested for SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The Mayor of Tokyo, Ms. Koike Yuriko, said that Tokyo has now met the criteria set by the central government. At the same time, efforts are being made to resume social and economic activities by establishing new standards and living habits.

Since the middle of this month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has begun to lift restrictions on areas with reduced incidence. Currently, the Tokyo metropolitan area - where it is most impacted by the pandemic, is the last point to impose a state of emergency.

According to Bloomberg, Tokyo and the surrounding provinces including Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama have a population of about 35 million people, the total economic output is estimated at 1,700 billion USD.