Japan’s prime minister on Monday extended a nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic until the end of May, after government officials warned it was too soon to ease restrictions.
“I will extend the period of the state of emergency I declared on April 7 until May 31. The area covered is all prefectures in the nation,” Shinzo Abe said after a meeting to discuss the measures.
Abe declared a month-long state of emergency that initially covered Tokyo and six other regions on April 7, later expanding it to cover the entire country.
It had been due to expire on Wednesday, but the country’s minister for the virus response, Yasutoshi Nishimura, said earlier that new infections were still growing.
