Elimination of all regulations is expected in the months to come if infections settle down further.Įven afterward, if the government declares another emergency because of a resurgence of infections, it says it will not reinstate uniform restrictions since the vaccinations rates will be so high. as long as they take anti-virus measures. The government has indicated that for about one month, it will permit restaurants and other dining establishments to serve alcohol in Tokyo and other prefectures until 8 p.m. and refrain from serving alcohol, with mixed results. It also requested restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. Under the state of emergency, the government urged people to stay at home and avoid going to crowded places. However, he said the progress in vaccinations in Japan means "we will be able to have better control of the situation than we did with the fifth wave." On Friday, Japan also started to ease quarantine rules for travelers from abroad who have been fully vaccinated, reducing the required period of self-isolation after arrival from 14 days to 10.īut concerning possible future waves of infections, Atsuo Hamada, a specially-appointed professor in travel medicine at Tokyo Medical University Hospital, has said, based on the situation in other countries, "We cannot avoid a 'sixth wave' coming between November and December." That day, health minister Norihisa Tamura said, "There is no reason to say with certainty" what is causing the drop in infections, while others spoke more to the point, such as Kazuhiro Tateda, a professor in the medical department at Toho University, who admitted, "We don't know why infections are declining." Government officials and infectious disease experts, however, are still scratching their heads about the decision. On Tuesday, the government formally decided to lift the state of emergency covering Tokyo and 18 other prefectures, the catalyst for relaxing restrictions being a sharp decline in infections. Other issues, like how children who are not old enough to receive a vaccination will be able to return to normal life, also remain outstanding.įriday marked the first time since April that none of the country's 47 prefectures were subject to measures aimed at curbing infections. Soon the nation could do away with restrictions on social and economic activities altogether.īut it remains to be seen how the government might implement its next steps on a nationwide scale, such as requiring vaccine certificates to verify people's inoculation status at stadiums for large events. After a year and half of on-again, off-again measures, such as requesting that people refrain from nonessential outings, Japan has seemingly turned a corner on its path back to normalcy.