Tokyo Has Decided to Seek State of Emergency, Mainichi Says

Pedestrians wearing protective masks cross a road in the Shimbashi District of Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, March 22, 2021. Japan ended the state of emergency in the Tokyo region Sunday, just days before the torch relay begins on March 25 for the virus-delayed Tokyo Olympics, now scheduled to start in July. Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Kana Nishizawa, Bloomberg News

Apr 20, 2021

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(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo has decided to ask the Japanese government to declare a state of emergency, Mainichi newspaper reported, as authorities step up restrictions to contain a surge in coronavirus infections ahead of an Olympics just three months away.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has told ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai she plans to seek the designation for the capital, the report said, without saying where it obtained the information. The city will make the final decision after a virus panel meeting on Thursday, it said.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government stepped up restrictions this month in Tokyo, Osaka and other regions to slow the spread, imposing measures that call on bars and restaurants to close by 8 p.m., and those that fail to comply face fines.

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