Japan has extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other states to squelch the rise of COVID-19 cases in the country however, there are some concerns over the Tokyo Olympics still scheduled to hold in July.
Citizens are protesting for the postponement of the sporting event and refusing to host international athletes due to the rising cases in many major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. An online petition with over 230,000 signatories has asked for the event to be canceled.
Currently, only 2% of Japan’s 126 million citizens have received at least one dose of the vaccine Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has now extended the state of emergency to May 31 from May 11 in hopes that a definite and powerful lockdown would help stem the fourth wave of infections in the Asian country.
Suga has reiterated on multiple occasions that he believes Japan will be able to host a secure and safe Olympics.