Tokyo set to seek extension of emergency until May 31

A man wearing a protective face mask, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, makes his way at a local shopping street in Tokyo, Japan

* Olympics under shadow as cases grow * Vaccination programme lags other countries * Tokyo reports 591 new coronavirus cases Japan's capital will seek to extend until May 31 its state of emergency aimed at curbing coronavirus infections, Governor Yuriko Koike said on Thursday, a move that could spark more questions about its ability to host the Olympics. Japan had hoped a ‘short and powerful’ emergency would contain a fourth wave of infections just under three months before Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games from July 23. While the measure now running from April 25 until Tuesday has not damped a surge of new infections, continuing it until May 31 leaves a margin of less than two months before the Games, already postponed by a year over the pandemic.