Japan preparing to expand state of emergency to Osaka, Kyoto -media

The Japanese government has started preparations to expand a state of emergency to the western Japanese prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo, Jiji news agency reported on Monday.

The three prefectures on Saturday asked the government for expansion of the state of emergency, already in place for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, to include their region in an effort to contain the latest COVID-19 outbreak.