Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and four other remaining areas on Monday, ending the restrictions nationwide as businesses begin to reopen.
Experts on a government-commissioned panel approved the lifting of the emergency in Tokyo, neighbouring Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures, and in Hokkaido to the north, which had more cases and remained under the emergency declaration after it was removed in most of Japan earlier this month.Under the emergency, people were asked to stay at home and non-essential businesses were requested to close or reduce operations, but there was no enforcement.
But the world's third largest economy has fallen into a recession, and public discontent over Abe's handling of the outbreak has sent his support ratings tumbling. Recent media surveys show public support for his Cabinet has plunged below 30%, the lowest since he returned to office in December 2012. Abe also announced a new stimulus plan worth about 100 trillion yen to provide financial support for companies hit by the pandemic. Cabinet approval of a second supplementary budget to fund the additional stimulus is expected later this week.
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