Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: Japanese on Sunday flocked to parks in Tokyo despite a third state of emergency coming into force to try and halt the rapid advance of COVID-19 in Japan.

Families and kids enjoyed a sunny day in the capital as they started to celebrate “koinobori” season, a time when carp streamers celebrate Children’s Day, which falls on May 5.

A patrol dispatched by the Tokyo government was seen in a park in the Midtown area of central Tokyo, but they merely reminded people that “we are in a state of emergency” and asked them to be cautious as new variants of the virus were spreading.

This week sees the start of Golden Week, one of Japan’s major holiday periods that usually sees millions traveling around the country.

In recent days, the infection rate has been increasing in Tokyo and major cities in Japan, particularly Osaka in western Japan.

So far, 565,917 people have been infected by COVID-19 in Japan and 9,936 people have died.

Japan’s government has been under fire for its poor handling of the coronavirus crisis and many critics have suggested that Japan has been unwilling to take strong measures in order to protect the Tokyo Olympics, which will start in three months’ time.