With various coronavirus countermeasures active in nearly half the country, the looming possibility that the state of emergency will be expanded nationwide — and doubts over the efficacy of such a move — weigh heavily on Japan.

After case numbers began to rebound in March, the central government declared a state of emergency and pre-emergency measures in places where infections were spreading rapidly. But new cases continued to rise as the nation’s fourth wave took shape.

Still, the central government remains hesitant to further expand the order.