TOKYO
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged Sunday to do his utmost to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus ahead of the Olympic torch relay and his upcoming visit to Washington. Suga was addressing his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s annual convention, just hours ahead of the planned lifting of a virus state of emergency in the Tokyo region. Suga said after the state of emergency is lifted is “an extremely important time” for virus prevention.
“We must not put our guards down ... to prevent the infections from rebounding,” he said.
Suga on Thursday announced that the months-long emergency measures for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama would end at midnight Sunday, a move underscoring his government’s eagerness to minimize burdens on businesses and keep the economy going, despite concerns raised by experts about the potential for an upsurge. Suga vowed to do the utmost to protect the people’s lives and health and sought their cooperation in doing what they can to get infections under control and “regain the peace of mind and daily lives.” The measures have been in place for the Tokyo region since Jan. 7 after daily infections surged to new highs in the area. The non-binding measure relied on requests for restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and take preventive measures.
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