Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Thursday that he will raise the daily cap on arrivals from overseas to 7,000 starting March 14 and extend quasi-emergencies in 18 out of the 31 prefectures where the measure is currently in effect.

The remaining prefectures will see their quasi-emergencies expire Sunday as scheduled.

"We will take further measures to rejuvenate social and economic activities if we can more clearly see an exit of the sixth wave in the future," Kishida told a news conference.