For Ryusei Takahashi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has insisted the delayed games will be held in July, rejecting a claim by The Times of London that the government has already decided to cancel the event.
Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Tochigi and Fukuoka have all been added, making the order effective in 11 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
Annual rite of passage for Japan's 20-year-olds would have been celebrated in style, with decadent kimonos, childhood reunions and all-night after-parties, were it not for COVID-19.
Within a day of measures for the Tokyo area taking effect, a growing number of other prefectures have already asked for the order be expanded as cases continue to increase.
Although infections within residences continue to account for the largest portion of traceable new cases in Tokyo, the looming state of emergency will largely target food establishments.
Nearly all efforts by Japan's central government to curb the spread of the virus in the nation depend on the voluntary compliance of its people.
The prime minister is considering declaring a state of emergency as a third wave of COVID-19 spreads rapidly and his approval ratings continue to sink.
Despite Suga's pledge, questions remain concerning the country’s willingness to overhaul the world’s third-largest economy, slash harmful greenhouse gas emissions and curtail global warming.
Officials say the surge in new infections is already affecting local health care systems and overwhelming hospitals at a time of the year when staffing is limited.
The home of the world's third-largest economy is also the world’s fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
