Japan to extend state of emergency due to coronavirus

People wear masks as they commute during the morning rush hour Friday in Tokyo. Photo: AP/Kiichiro Sato. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

TOKYO, Apr 29, 2020, Reuters. The Japanese government is planning to extend the state of emergency over the new coronavirus pandemic by about one month for the entire country, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday (April 29), according to The Straits Times.

The government will make a final decision after hearing from experts at a meeting on Friday, the Nikkei said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Diet, as Japan’s Parliament is known, earlier on Wednesday that it was difficult to foresee the emergency decree being lifted as planned.