Japan plans to expand the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and 12 other areas to eight more prefectures as it looks to quell the country's largest wave of infections, government sources said Tuesday.
Together with Hokkaido, Miyagi, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures will come under the measure from Friday until Sept. 12.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with members of his Cabinet including health minister Norihisa Tamura and Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the COVID-19 response, to discuss the move, with the decision to be made official at a task force meeting on Wednesday.