Japan likely to extend state of emergency after Golden Week www.japantimes.co.jp

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his team are likely to extend the state of emergency for the coronavirus in prefectures still struggling to curb the pandemic, sources said Friday.
The emergency declaration was set to expire on May 6, when the Golden Week holidays officially end.
Abe is expected to make a decision on whether to lift the state of emergency based on infection levels logged during Golden Week.
“It is now an extremely important period for bringing the state of emergency to a swift close,” Abe said at the meeting.
“We’ll decide whether to extend it beyond May 6 after hearing from experts.”When the government issued the emergency declaration on April 7, it initially covered Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka.