TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested Wednesday that it would be difficult for the government to fully remove its state of emergency declaration over the coronavirus crisis in early May.

"Can we say on May 6 that the crisis was over? The coronavirus situation remains severe in the country," Abe said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament.

"We can't make a decision now" on whether to lift the emergency declaration or keep it in place, he said, showing his plan to reach a conclusion after hearing opinions of experts soon.

The government declared the state of emergency on April 7 for seven of the country's 47 prefectures--Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka--and expanded it nationwide on April 16. The emergency declaration is currently slated to expire on May 6.

On the possibility of revising again the special measures law on new types of influenza, which was amended earlier this year to cover the novel coronavirus as well, to enhance the effectiveness of the state of emergency declaration, Abe said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, earlier on Wednesday that "we would have to consider new steps if the law is deemed insufficient" for the fight against the virus.

But the prime minister indicated that he will study the matter carefully, saying that citizens have been cooperating with stay-at-home requests issued by authorities to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

JIJI Press