May 8, 2021

The Suga government on May 7 announced that states of emergency applied to four prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka, which are set to expire on May 11, will be extended until the end of this month, adding the prefectures of Aichi and Fukuoka from May 12.

Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Tamura Tomoko (Upper House) held a press conference in the Diet building, pointing out that COVID-19 infections show no sign of decreasing in Osaka and nearby prefectures despite the emergency measures. She also pointed out that hospitals in Osaka are overwhelmed by the situation and therefore capable of admitting only 10% of infected people, and that even severe cases are included among 10,000 housebound patients in Osaka.

Tamura said, "The government should explain to the general public what kind of effects the current emergency measures have had so far and why these measures cannot stop the further spread of COVID-19."

In a House of Representatives committee meeting, JCP Shiokawa Tetsuya said, "Taking the present burdens on hospitals into consideration, the holding of the Tokyo Olympic Games is incompatible with the fight against COVID-19. If held, the Games may trigger another surge of infections with variant strains," demanding that Japan cancel the Games.

In a House of Councilors committee meeting, JCP Kurabayashi Akiko said that in order to prevent large-scale COVID-19 clusters, the government should have more strategic measures and have all the people PCR tested. She went on to say that the government should also drastically increase the rate of screening for coronavirus variants.

Past related article:
> Adequate compensation should be promptly provided to businesses adversely affected by coronavirus emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo [April 24, 2021]