Japanese PM Suga’s visit to India, Philippines cancelled amid COVID-19 surge in Japan: Report

Tokyo, April 21: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has cancelled his planned visit to India and the Philippines due to a resurgence of coronavirus infections in Japan, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to Kyodo News, the trip, which had been scheduled from late April to early May, was intended to reaffirm Japan’s cooperation with the two countries in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific.

This would have been the first visit of Suga as Prime Minister to India.

Last week, Suga visited the United States for a summit meeting with US President Joe Biden.

Japan, which has a population of 12.63 crores, has so far reported nearly 5,40,000 coronavirus infection. The death toll in the country stands at 9,707. The surge of infections is reported in mainly two cities Tokyo and Osaka.

The government plans to impose a fresh coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and Hyogo prefectures soon as a surge in severe cases chokes the areas’ health care systems, according to government sources.

Prime Minister Suga will meet later Wednesday with relevant ministers including health chief Norihisa Tamura and Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of the country’s coronavirus response, to discuss what would be the third emergency declaration over the pandemic. (ANI)