The government plans to declare a state of emergency in Osaka, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, where priority measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus are currently in place, sources said Thursday.
The state of emergency will be in effect until Aug. 31.
The government also informed ruling party officials that priority measures will also be applied to Hokkaido, Hyogo, Kyoto, Ishikawa and Fukuoka prefectures.
The state of emergency currently in place in Tokyo and Okinawa prefectures will be extended to Aug. 31, beyond the original deadline of Aug. 22.
The government will finalize the plans on Friday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters Thursday evening after discussing the matter with the relevant Cabinet members at the Prime Minister's Office.
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