Japan PM Suga is uncertain about extending the state of emergency

PM Suga raising his hand as he responded to a question from CDP Tetsuro Fukuyama during the Budget Committee meeting of the upper house of the Diet.
On his left is Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Ryota Takeda.
March 15, 2021 10:21 a.m. Photo by Reina Kitamura.

    CDP member Tetsuro Fukuyama questioned Japan PM Yoshihide Suga's decision to lift the state of emergency from the greater Tokyo area, which was made in response to the pandemic. "We see the numbers [of COVID-19 cases], but we still don't know if we should lift the state of emergency," Fukuyama commented.

　PM Suga explained, "The two-week extension was for the sole reason to ease the strain on our hospitals. We've only focused on tightening protocols for restaurants, but the number of new cases have gone down by 80%. This means that our protocols are extremely effective," he pointed out.

　"The decline of new infections is stabilizing, so we are not in the position to keep extending the state of emergency," he argued. PM Suga will make the final decision as he considers expert advice.

Source: https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP3H3TFMP3HUTFK00G.html?iref=com_apitop