Japan is expected to lift a state of emergency across a large part of the country later today, but the capital Tokyo will likely remain under restrictions until there is a convincing containment of Covid-19.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to hold a news conference at 6pm local time (9am Irish time) when he is expected to announce the lifting of the emergency in 39 of Japan's 47 prefectures, but not in Tokyo.
The world's third-largest economy declared a nationwide state of emergency a month ago, urging citizens to reduce person-to-person contact by 80% in an effort to slow the pace of new coronavirus infections and ease the strain on medical services.