Japan mulls wider state of emergency as prefectures seek inclusion

The Japanese government is considering an expansion of its state of emergency declared earlier this week amid the coronavirus outbreak to include other areas of the country as some prefectures also seek to be covered by the emergency measures, a government official said Thursday.While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for Tokyo and six other prefectures, some prefectures with large urban areas were not on the list.The official said the government will decide what to do by assessing the situation in some areas and listening to the opinions of experts.Followin…READ FULL ARTICLE