Japan to extend state of emergency over coronavirus until May 31

The extension beyond Wednesday -- the last day of Japan's Golden Week holiday -- to May 31 comes as the medical system has been stretched thin and economic activity depressed due to stay-at-home and business closure requests under the emergency declaration.

A government panel of medical experts recommended Friday that the emergency steps should be kept in place for a while to prevent a surge in new COVID-19 infections that would put an additional strain on hospitals.

As the number of reported cases differs from place to place, the government is expected to ease its stay-at-home requests and allow some economic activity to resume in prefectures where the infection situation is not designated as requiring «special caution.»

The reopening of parks, libraries and museums, meanwhile, will likely be permitted across the country on condition that preventive steps against the virus are taken.

An advisory panel of medical experts will determine whether the extension as envisaged by the government is appropriate before Abe makes his final decision in the afternoon. The premier is scheduled to meet the press at 6 p.m.

Abe declared a monthlong state of emergency on April 7 for seven prefectures covering urban areas including Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. He expanded it to the entire nation on April 16 to pre-empt an expected increase in travel during the roughly weeklong holiday period when many Japanese normally visit their hometowns or go on trips.

To mitigate the damage done to households, he timed the announcement with a pledge to provide each of Japan's some 126 million people with 100,000 yen ($930) to help ride out the emergency situation.

Currently, the seven prefectures first targeted for the state of emergency are among 13 prefectures designated by the government as needing special caution.

Japan has confirmed over 15,000 coronavirus cases with about 550 deaths.

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