Thirty-nine prefectures would see an end to the coronavirus state of emergency under a plan submitted by the government on Thursday to the Advisory Committee on the Basic Action Policy regarding countermeasures against the virus.
The 39 prefectures include Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures, which are five of the 13 designated prefectures on special alert. The other 34 prefectures do not have that designation.
The committee concluded that the plan is appropriate and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce the decision on Thursday evening.
"We got approval on the plan" from the committee, Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of economic revitalization, said to reporters.
Regarding Ehime Prefecture, where a group infection was confirmed Wednesday, the committee called for thorough investigations on the infection route. Ehime will thus have "conditional" lifting of the declaration of a state of emergency, sources familiar with the matter said.
As for the remaining eight special-alert prefectures -- Tokyo, Hokkaido, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo -- the government told the panel: "As the cumulative number of reported cases per 100,000 people in the past week has been 0.5 cases or more, it is necessary to continue efforts to prevent the spread of infection with the special alert designation."
The government is expected to review whether to lift the state of emergency declaration for the eight prefectures on May 21.
The lifting of the declaration is set to be officially decided by the government's task force at the Thursday evening meeting. Prior to the meeting, the government is to report the decision to the Committee on Rules and Administration of both the upper and lower houses, after which Prime Minister Abe will hold a press conference.
The government first declared a state of emergency in seven prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka on April 7 and extended the declaration to all 47 prefectures on April 16.
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