The health situation remains worrying in Japan.
At 80 days of the Tokyo Olympics, the government has just extended this Friday by three weeks the state of emergency in four departments, including that of Tokyo supposed to host the Olympic games this summer.
Two additional departments will also join this system.
"The number of new cases of infections is high in large cities, and hospitals continue to be overwhelmed" in departments in the west of the country, said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
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Therefore, the government "decided to extend the state of emergency until May 31", he added, while this device was initially due to end next Tuesday in the four departments of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. and Hyogo (west), concerned since April 25.
The prefectures of Aichi (center) and Fukuoka (southwest), also densely populated, will also be included by the state of emergency, confirmed Mr. Suga.
Spectators from abroad excluded from the Olympics
Activated for the third time in the country in just over a year, the Japanese state of emergency provides for less severe restrictions than the strict lockdowns implemented elsewhere in the world. It consists above all in restricting the activity of certain physical businesses, in particular imposing the temporary closure of bars and restaurants serving alcohol, under penalty of a fine. However, some restrictions could be eased, according to local media, such as banning spectators for sporting events.
Japan is currently registering some 5,300 new cases of Covid-19 daily on a weekly average, for some 10,500 deaths since early 2020. The scale of the pandemic remains limited compared to other regions of the world, but the health crisis is exhausting the Japanese hospital system, especially as the vaccination campaign is progressing very slowly in the archipelago.
The new outbreak of infections also represents a threat for the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8), postponed for a year in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The Japanese government, the organizers of Tokyo-2020 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are working hard to ensure that the Olympics will take place "in complete safety".
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Spectators from abroad have already been excluded from the Olympics, and the organizers have yet to decide the question of the public residing in Japan.
But the arrival of more than 10,000 athletes and delegations from some 200 countries continues to worry many Japanese, fearing that the event will further worsen the health situation in the country.
Complicated Olympic Torch Relay
A clear majority of Japanese are thus opposed to the holding of the Olympics this summer, wanting either a further postponement or a complete cancellation, according to all polls for several months.
More than 210,000 people have already signed an online petition entitled "Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives," launched Wednesday by a media lawyer and former candidate for governor of Tokyo.
The health situation complicates the conduct of several Games test events, as well as that of the Olympic torch relay, which started at the end of March in Japan.
Some runners give up participating, and many stages are organized behind closed doors by the local authorities.
Tokyo-2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said on Friday that IOC President Thomas Bach would be "welcome" if he came to Tokyo in May, while believing that it would be "difficult" to organize such a visit. due to the prolongation of the state of emergency.