May 20, 2020 (NHK) - Tokyo reported just five new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the latest sign of progress in the battle against the outbreak as the city remains under a state of emergency.
That marks the tenth straight day the number of confirmed infections in the Japanese capital has been below 30. A total of more than 5,000 people have tested positive in the city of about 14 million.
The central government is expected to decide on Thursday whether to lift the state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and six other prefectures. The measure ended around the rest of the country last week.
The governors of Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures held a video conference on Tuesday.
They repeated their call for residents to stay alert and maintain social distancing.
Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko said: " More people are coming out of their homes. We need to remind residents to continue taking thorough preventive measures."
Economic and social activities are gradually resuming. An aquarium outside Tokyo opened on Monday for the first time in more than a month.
Namekawa Noritaka, who works for the Ibaraki Prefectural Oarai Aquarium, said: "People have been mostly staying at home. I hope they'll enjoy spending time with various creatures here."
Starbucks has started reopening more than half its 1,500 coffee shops across Japan. Other major coffee chains such as Doutor and Tully's are taking similar steps.
Meanwhile, the government is offering up to 1,900 dollars to post-secondary students whose income from part-time jobs has fallen due to store closures. About 430,000 people will benefit, including foreign students.
The program will be funded by a 1.1-trillion-dollar economic package that also includes a cash handout of about 940 dollars for all residents.
More than 16,300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Japan and over 770 have died.
