The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.----------Japan decides to lift COVID-19 quasi-emergency in 3 prefecturesTOKYO - The Japanese government decided Thursday to lift the COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency in three prefectures after this weekend, having deemed infections are steadily declining and the strain on hospitals has eased.Restrictions in Gunma, Ishikawa and Kumamoto, including a ban on restaurants serving alcohol and requiring them to close by 8 p.m. as well as a 5,000-person attendance cap at events, will be lifted at the end of Sunday as schedu…READ FULL ARTICLE