Japan extends state of emergency to control Covid before hosting Olympics

The prime minister faces enormous pressure to keep the virus under control, and the public is worried the global sports spectacle could turn into a superspreader event

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extended a state of emergency that includes Tokyo and other major cities, in a last-ditch effort to rein in Covid infections ahead of the capital hosting the Olympics in less than two months.

Suga said Friday the emergency that was due to end on May 31 would be extended to June 20, a little more than a month before the Tokyo Olympics start. The extension would be for Tokyo, Osaka and seven other prefectures that comprise about half of the nation’s economy.

“The nationwide infection numbers have been falling since the middle of the month,” Suga told