A COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency ended Tuesday in all 18 prefectures covered, including Tokyo and Osaka, amid a declining trend in the number of new infections.It is the first time since Jan. 8 that Japan has no emergency measures in place. But concerns remain that coronavirus cases could rise again driven by the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2, with movements of people expected to increase significantly as the business and academic year ends in the coming days.The government formally decided on Thursday to lift the quasi-emergency based on new criteria, including allowing it t…READ FULL ARTICLE