"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a news conference on Monday about the end to the nation's state of emergency. | REUTERS May 25, 2020
by Satoshi Sugiyama


The first phase of Japan’s battle against the novel coronavirus ended Monday as the government rescinded the state of emergency in Hokkaido and the Tokyo metropolitan area, tiptoeing its way into a new reality still riddled with uncertainty.

After consulting with an advisory panel composed of infectious disease experts, the government lifted the declaration in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, removing the last of the restrictions. It had already cleared the declaration in 39 prefectures on May 14 and three prefectures in the Kansai region — Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto — last Thursday, earlier than their scheduled conclusion on May 31.

The government’s decision to lift the declaration early highlights its strong desire to revive the nation’s faltering economy as soon as possible. Overall, the country has managed to keep the death toll relatively low compared to other countries and bring down the number of new coronavirus patients to government-set thresholds for reopening.

In a news conference Monday evening, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touted the country’s ability to flatten the curve and lift the emergency declaration in about a month and a half — without compulsory lockdown measures seen in the United States and Europe,pointing out that the number of patients in hospitals has decreased to below 2,000. “I made a judgment that the country as a whole had met the strict standard to lift the state of emergency compared to other countries,” Abe said.

“The Japanese model has demonstrated its strength,” he added."

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/25/national/japan-lifts-state-of-emergency-coronavirus/