Japan to extend COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo area - paper

FILE PHOTO: People walk in Shibuya shopping area, during a state of emergency amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan August 29, 2021. REUTERS/Androniki?Christodoulou

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government plans to extend a state of emergency in and around Tokyo until the last week of September in a further bid to contain the coronavirus epidemic, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Saturday.

Japan last month expanded emergency curbs https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-seeks-state-emergency-expansion-8-more-prefectures-minister-2021-08-24 to cover about 80% of its population until Sept. 12, but the number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow the restrictions to be lifted.