Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announces at a government task force meeting on June 17 that the COVID-19 state of emergency will be lifted for nine prefectures on June 20. (Koichi Ueda)

The central government on June 17 formally decided to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency for nine prefectures on June 20, but certain restrictions will remain in some areas, including curbs on serving alcohol.

The state of emergency will continue until at least July 11 for Okinawa Prefecture, which has had the largest number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week in Japan, government sources said.

Seven of the nine prefectures that will have the emergency declaration end as scheduled will have pre-emergency measures in place from June 21 to July 11 to stave off a possible rebound in new COVID-19 cases.

The seven prefectures are Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido Aichi, Hyogo, Kyoto and Fukuoka.

Hiroshima and Okayama are the only two prefectures that will not only have the state of emergency lifted but will also be removed from pre-emergency measures.

During the state of emergency, establishments that serve alcohol were asked to temporarily close operations. Under the pre-emergency measures, such businesses can serve alcohol until 7 p.m. under the condition that they have received certification from the prefectural government that infection prevention measures have been put in place.

But they will still have to close at 8 p.m.

Moreover, the governors of the seven prefectures will continue to have the authority to ask for tougher measures, such as a total ban on serving alcohol, if they feel such measures are needed to prevent a spread of infections.

Speaking at a meeting of the government’s panel of experts dealing with the pandemic on June 17, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the state minister for economic revitalization who is also in charge of the government effort against the novel coronavirus, pointed out that pedestrian traffic is again increasing, leading to the need to prevent a rebound of new infections.

Pre-emergency measures for the three prefectures neighboring Tokyo—Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba—were scheduled to end on June 20, but that deadline will be extended until July 11.

The pre-emergency measures will be lifted for Gifu and Mie prefectures, which border Aichi Prefecture.

Nishimura also spoke at a session of the Lower House Rules and Administration Committee on June 17 to explain the government plan regarding the state of emergency.

He indicated that a state of emergency could be declared once again--even during the Tokyo Olympics that are scheduled to begin from July 23--if there was a surge in new COVID-19 cases.

But when asked if the government would request the International Olympic Committee to delay or call off the Olympics while the event is in progress, Nishimura only said that ultimate authority on whether to go ahead with the Games lies with the IOC.

Related News