State of emergency declared in Tokyo, Osaka region as virus surges

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency Friday in Tokyo and the western Japan prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo in an effort to curb a surge in coronavirus cases during the upcoming Golden Week holidays.Tougher restrictions, such as banning restaurants and bars from serving alcohol, asking department stores and movie theaters to close temporarily, and barring fans at sports games, will be in place from Sunday through May 11.The emergency declaration, covering roughly a quarter of Japan's population of 126 million and about a third of its economy, comes with just thre…READ FULL ARTICLE