Japan extends emergency Covid rules less than two months before Olympics

Japan has extended emergency coronavirus measures in Tokyo and several other regions as the country struggles to rein in the latest wave of infections less than two months before the Olympics. The state of emergency – the third in the capital since the start of the pandemic – was called in late April and due to end on 11 May but was extended until the end of this month, as restrictions on businesses failed to make a dent in infections. The latest extension is scheduled to end on 20 June, little over a month before the Olympics are due to begin. The number of infections have fallen in Tokyo in recent days, but the daily caseload is still too high to justify an end to the measures, according to medical experts, while hospitals are contending with a record number of critically ill patients.