Japan eyes state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka regions amid virus surge

Tokyo: Japan's government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka as new COVID-19 case numbers surge, broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, a move that would enable prefectural authorities to impose curbs to try to stop infections spreading.

With thousands of new cases resulting from highly infectious strains of the virus, the government is expected to declare the state of emergency this week for the capital and Osaka prefecture, as well as the latter's neighbouring Hyogo and Kyoto prefectures, a number of domestic media outlets reported. If adopted in all four regions, the emergency measures would cover close to a quarter of Japan's population of 126 million.