Japan to expand special COVID-19 measures to four more prefectures: NHK

FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective mask walks in a street where shops and restaurants are closed after the government declared the second state of emergency for the capital and some prefectures, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at China town in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, January 8, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

The Japanese government has decided to put four more prefectures including Kanagawa, next to Tokyo, under a quasi-state of emergency, bringing the number of prefectures targetted for COVID-19 prevention to 10, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday.

Six prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka are already under the quasi-state of emergency.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Toby Chopra)