People walk on a street in Tokyo, Japan on Monday. Japan has entered the "fifth wave" of its COVID-19 outbreak. More than 10,000 people were newly diagnosed on Sunday, the fourth consecutive day the figure has been above 10,000. Prefectures including Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa declared a state of emergency on Monday. Photo: IC

Japan will lift a coronavirus state of emergency in all regions on Thursday as the number of new cases falls and the strain on the medical system eases, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said.

The plan, approved by a government advisory panel, takes Japan as a whole out of an emergency state for the first time in nearly six months. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold a news conference at 7 pm (1000 GMT) to announce the decision after the plan is formalized by a government task force.

But Nishimura said some limitations on eateries and large-scale events would remain in place for about a month to prevent a resurgence in cases.

"New cases will undoubtedly rise after the emergency state is lifted," Nishimura, who also oversees Japan's coronavirus response, said on Tuesday as the advisory panel began its meeting. "We need to continue with the necessary measures to prevent a rebound," he said, adding that if cases surged again, reinstatement of a more limited "quasi emergency" was possible.

Restaurants in areas under emergency curbs are now required to close by 8 pm and not serve alcohol.

Nishimura said the government would introduce a certification system whereby only approved restaurants could stay open until 9 pm, although the ban on alcohol would be lifted everywhere unless prefectural governors objected.

But new daily cases have steadily fallen over the past month, to 1,128 nationwide on Monday, according to the health minister.

Nearly 60 percent of the population is vaccinated and the government has said all those who want shots will have had them by November.

Reuters