Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, center back, attends a meeting of the prefecture's coronavirus task force in Osaka on July 7, 2021. (Kyodo)

       OSAKA (Kyodo) -- The Osaka prefectural government asked the Japanese government Wednesday to maintain business restrictions under a COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency, slated to expire Sunday.

       The move in the metropolitan area in western Japan comes amid concerns the Tokyo Olympics from July 23 could trigger another surge in infections.

       Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to finalize the decision to extend the quasi-state of emergency covering Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures on Thursday, but it remains to be seen whether he will comply with Osaka's request.

       Osaka's daily number of new coronavirus cases has fallen significantly from the peak of Japan's fourth wave of infections, with 126 on Tuesday compared with 1,200 in mid-May.

       But the pace of decline has stalled in recent weeks, with prefectural officials voicing worries over the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus first detected in India and a rise in infections among people in their 20s and 30s.

       "There are signs of the coronavirus beginning to spread again and there is a high risk of a rebound," Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said at a task force meeting.

       Restrictions including asking restaurants to stop serving alcohol by 7 p.m. and close by 8 p.m. should remain in place until the end of July when most elderly citizens will have been fully vaccinated, he said.

       Yoshimura said at a press conference later in the day he plans to ease a rule prohibiting alcohol from being served to groups of more than two people, raising the limit to a maximum of four people.

       In a parliamentary hearing, Suga's top COVID-19 adviser, Shigeru Omi, expressed concern that the medical system could become strained if infections continue at the current pace and called for effective measures ahead of the summer holiday season and the Olympics and Paralympics.

       Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a separate press conference the Japanese government will proceed "in consultation with local authorities."

       A quasi-state of emergency entails smaller fines for noncompliance with restrictions than a full-fledged state of emergency and can target specific high-risk areas rather than entire prefectures.

       Extending the measure in Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa means organizers of the Summer Games including the Tokyo metropolitan government, the Japanese organizing committee and the International Olympic Committee must set a new ceiling on the number of spectators to let into the stands.

       The organizers had previously agreed to allow up to 10,000 people or 50 percent of a venue's capacity, whichever is fewer, on the condition that the situation improved enough to lift the quasi-state of emergency.

       Omi reiterated that having no spectators at all is "desirable" and that staff in attendance should be kept to a minimum.

       The leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Edano, also urged the Japanese government to prohibit fans at venues and argued that senior Olympic officials and sponsors should be barred as well.

       Suga has vowed to stage a "safe and secure" Summer Games as a symbol of humankind defeating COVID-19, promising to do so at a Group of Seven summit last month.

       But Edano said it is not too late to further postpone the Olympics -- they were originally to be held last year -- or cancel them outright.

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