Japan extends Covid emergency curbs in Tokyo, other areas, but govt eyeing reopening of borders

Tokyo

JAPAN extended emergency Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday in Tokyo and other regions until the end of this month to curb infections and prevent hospitals being overwhelmed.

Announcing the extension, ratified earlier by an advisory panel, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said it was needed to shore up a medical system still stretched by serious cases even though new infections were falling and vaccinations were rising.

"Inoculation of all those who wish to be vaccinated will be completed in October or November," said Mr Suga. "From then, we will be able to ease restrictions by using proof of vaccination or testing results."

Japan has been struggling with a fifth wave of the virus and last month extended its long-running curbs until Sept 12 to cover about 80 per cent of its population.

The number of severe cases and the strain on the medical system have not eased sufficiently in Tokyo and surrounding areas to allow restrictions to be lifted. The measures will now stretch until Sept 30, including for Osaka in the west.

Japan's emergency curbs have centred on asking restaurants to close early and refrain from serving alcohol. Residents are being urged to work from home as much as possible and refrain from travel.

Some signs of improvement around Japan mean two prefectures out of 21 will move from the state of emergency measures to more targeted restrictions, and a number of other prefectures will remove all curbs.

"I believe we're starting to see results, but it's still too early to lower our guard," Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said.

The Nikkei newspaper reported that the government was moving towards easing international entry restrictions by reducing quarantine times for vaccinated travellers.

The move has been urged by Keidanren, Japan's main business lobby, and foreign chambers of commerce.

"We welcome any proposal to re-open Japan's borders to business travel, as part of a science-based approach to preserving public health," Christopher LaFleur, special adviser to the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, said.

He said many of Japan's top trade partners allow vaccinated travellers to enter freely and mandate quarantines of 10 days for those without shots, and that it was "reasonable that Japan adopt the same policy".

Local media have reported that the government may allow restaurants to resume regular business hours and alcohol sales as the vaccination push nears completion in October and November.

Authorities are considering plans that would reward businesses that maintain current infection controls, such as foot traffic limits, or encourage in-store checks of vaccination and testing status.

About half of the population has now been fully vaccinated in Japan. Tokyo's new daily coronavirus infections totalled 1,834 on Wednesday.

Japan has reported around 1.6 million cases and 16,436 deaths but the death rate has declined in the latest outbreak. The 1 per cent fatality rate compares with 1.6 per cent in the United States and 1.9 per cent in Britain.

Shigeru Omi, Japan's chief health adviser, said on Wednesday the pandemic fight was shifting to focus more on the threat of new viral variants or a possible decline in the effectiveness of vaccines. REUTERS