Japan to extend state of emergency OLYMPICS CONCERNS: The PM faces enormous pressure to keep the outbreak under control, as the public is worried that the Games could turn into a superspreader event Bloomberg The Japanese government has recommended extending a state of emergency that includes Tokyo and other major cities, in a last-ditch effort to rein in COVID-19 infections ahead of the capital hosting the Olympic Games in less than two months. Japanese Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Yasutoshi Nishimura, the government’s point man for pandemic policy, yesterday said that the state of emergency that was due to end on Monday would be extended to June 20, a little more than a month before the Olympics start.