Japan PM to hold news conference on coronavirus on Thursday

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold a news conference at 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Thursday to discuss the nation's coronavirus situation, the foreign ministry said.

The statement did not elaborate further, but the Kyodo news agency said Abe planned to express his views on the partial lifting of a nationwide state of emergency, imposed last month to contain coronavirus infections.