TOKYO -- Japan announced on Friday that it will expand its coronavirus state of emergency to include three more prefectures as the nation struggles to contain rising infections, casting further doubt over the Tokyo Olympics 70 days ahead of their scheduled opening.

The government declared a COVID-19 emergency for Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures that starts on Sunday and will last until May 31. That brings the total number of prefectures under the state of emergency to nine, including Tokyo and the greater Osaka region.

Meanwhile, a lesser emergency will cover three additional prefectures -- Gunma, Ishikawa, and Kumamoto -- until mid-June.

Japan's Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday that the government's subcommittee on its coronavirus response "indicated that we need to give a strong message to the public."

"There are voices pointing out how the spread of the coronavirus variants and strain on medical care capacity are worse than what the numbers show," he said.

In areas under the state of emergency, restaurants, bars and karaoke parlors that serve alcohol are requested to close. Large commercial facilities like department stores and shopping centers are being asked to reduce business hours. Prefectural governors are also authorized to impose tighter restrictions.

At sports events, concerts and other large gatherings, spectators are limited to 5,000 or 50% of the venue's capacity, whichever is lower.

Restaurants and other establishments that violate COVID-19 emergency rules will be fined up to 300,000 yen ($2,750).

The latest extension of the state of emergency raises further questions about whether Japan will be able to go ahead with the Olympic Games, which are due to open on July 23.

This is Japan's third coronavirus state of emergency. It was declared on April 25 in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 and its variants during the Golden Week holiday in early May.

The Suga administration later extended the state of emergency to last until the end of May and has added five more prefectures to the list since its initial declaration following a surge in infections and a strain on hospital bed capacity.