As cases in Tokyo surge, Japan gives expert advisory panel a makeover

FILE PHOTO: Passersby walk on the crossing during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Shinjuku district in Tokyo, Japan June 24, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - With new coronavirus cases in Tokyo surging to a two-month high, Japan faces the prospect of a second wave without the experts who tackled the first phase of the epidemic.

Instead a new panel comprising a Nobel-prize winning geneticist, an artificial intelligence expert and a cardiologist will advise the government, as Japan seeks to revitalise its recession-hit economy.