Japan extended its state of emergency in Tokyo on Friday. It also expanded it to four other regions due to the rapid increase in the number of infections during the Olympics.

A state of emergency has also been in place since Friday in the Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa regions near Tokyo. The same goes for Osaka. In Tokyo and Okinawa, where the state of emergency has been in effect for some time, it will now remain in force at least until August 31.

The extension and extension of the state of emergency follow three days with record numbers of new corona infections in Tokyo. Partly because of this, the national infection figures in Japan exceeded 10,000 infections per day for the first time since the corona outbreak.

Japan has so far had more than 15,000 deaths from corona patients. That is relatively little for a country with more than 126 million inhabitants. In contrast, only 28 percent of Japan’s population is currently fully vaccinated. Again, that is a low percentage for a rich country like Japan. In the Netherlands, about half of all adults are fully vaccinated.

Experts warn that healthcare in Asian country will come under great pressure. Therefore, a group of medical organizations urged the government on Thursday to declare a state of emergency for the entire country. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga wants 40 percent of the Japanese population to be vaccinated by the end of August.