Premier Shinzo Abe announced the decision to lift the state of emergency on Thursday  for 39 out of the 47 prefectures where the number of new Covid-19 cases has significantly fallen. The decision is expected to be formalised by a government task force later today. The 39 prefectures include five of those previously designated as high-risk areas, including Aichi — where Nagoya is located — and nearby Gifu and Ishikawa and Fukuoka on Kyushu island. Earlier this month Japan extended the state of emergency until the 30 of May, which started on 8 April in some regions and was later expanded to cover the entire country.

Abe said the government has decided to continue the strict emergency measures in eight high-risk prefectures, such as Tokyo and its three neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama; Osaka and its nearby Hyogo and Kyoto, along with northern Japan's Hokkaido.