TOKYO -- The Japanese government is set to ease COVID-19 restrictions in Tokyo and other prefectures from next week, after it lifts a state of emergency ahead of the Olympic Games in about a month.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will consult with experts on Thursday on the lifting of strict restrictions. A quasi-state of emergency will be applied on seven prefectures beginning June 21, after the current state of emergency expires on June 20 in 10 prefectures, in a move to prevent another wave of infections before the Games.
"We will decide how we deal with each prefecture after hearing opinions of experts tomorrow," Suga told reporters on Wednesday, while acknowledging that the decline in the number of daily cases is actually decelerating. "We hope to promote measures to prevent spread and vaccination rollout in each region."
Suga will convene a task force meeting on Thursday to make a final decision on the new measures.
Okinawa, where hospitals have been overwhelmed by a surge in coronavirus patients, has requested an extension of the state of emergency.
Suga held talks with Minister of Health Norihisa Tamura and others in his Cabinet on Wednesday.
An advisory board of experts at the health ministry said Wednesday that the number of new COVID infections in Japan is continuing to decline. However, "there is an increase in the flow of people and the rate of decline is slowing in some areas, so there are concerns about a rebound in the future," the board said.
The games are scheduled to begin on July 23, but there are lingering public concerns about the possibility of a steep rise in coronavirus infections triggered by an influx of people into Tokyo and the spread of more contagious COVID-19 variants.
The government will take precautions to hold the Olympics "in a safe and secure manner," as called for in the official communique of the G-7 leaders published Sunday.
The health ministry's advisory board added that the government may need to redeclare the state of emergency from late July to early August -- during the Olympics -- if they detect any spread of the Delta variant first found in India.
A quasi-emergency would mean lower fines for failure to comply with restrictions, which include restaurants and bars being asked to shorten opening hours. Currently, the government is asking restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages under the state of emergency to close.