Most areas in Japan to fully reopen Mon. as new infections fall

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TOKYO. KAZINFORM Thirty-eight of Japan's 47 prefectures are set to fully reopen their economies on Monday as they seek to strike a balance between rebuilding the economies hit by the coronavirus and implementing measures to prevent a second wave of infections.

Schools will also reopen across the country, a week after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fully lifted the nation's state of emergency declared over the pandemic, Kyodo reports.


With businesses resuming in stages from early May, a total of 38 prefectures such as Hokkaido, Aichi and Hyogo will lift restrictions on operations of shops and leisure facilities on Monday.

Given their small number of infection cases, Okayama and Tokushima prefectures had not filed requests that businesses suspend operations as part of efforts to curb the virus spread.

In the remaining seven prefectures including Tokyo and Fukuoka, such requests will be maintained for businesses with records of having clusters of infection, such as clubs with live music.

With a decreasing number of new infections, Tokyo is set Monday to enter the second phase of a relaxation of business restrictions, which will include the reopening of most facilities such as cinemas, sports gyms and cram schools.

But the situation remains in the balance in Tokyo, which has been hit hardest in Japan by the pneumonia-causing virus, after the metropolitan government reported 14 new infections in the capital on Saturday.


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