Japan expands Covid-19 emergency beyond Tokyo to cover Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka, East Asia

TOKYO – Japan has expanded its Covid-19 state of emergency to seven more prefectures, covering the major cities of Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe and Fukuoka, in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus nationwide. The measure, announced on Wednesday (Jan 13), takes effect at midnight. These seven areas join Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures, where the emergency came into force last Friday in the declaration that lasts until Feb 7. To fight the surge in cases, Japan on Wednesday also enacted a blanket entry ban on all non-resident foreign nationals until Feb 7. This covers the 11 regions with…