Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets the press at his office in Tokyo on Aug. 17, 2021, after the government decided to extend a COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and five other prefectures through Sept. 12 and add seven more prefectures in view of the recent resurgence of infections in wider areas of Japan. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday called on the Japanese public to reduce outings to crowded areas by 50 percent in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.

       The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has caused an "unprecedented" surge in infections nationwide, Suga said at a press conference after deciding to extend the state of emergency covering Tokyo and elsewhere and expand it to more prefectures.

       Suga also suggested the need to enact new legislation to bolster the government's COVID-19 measures, while denying lockdowns imposed in other countries have been effective.

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0