3 western prefectures ask gov't to lift virus emergency early

OSAKA, Japan : Three western Japan prefectures asked the central government on Tuesday to lift the state of emergency in their areas this weekend over the coronavirus pandemic ahead of its schedule end date on March 7, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said. The governors of Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo made a joint request to economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is leading the country's response to the pandemic, citing improvements in the number of hospital beds available for COVID-19 patients and the slowing pace of infections. Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura attends an online conference in Osaka on Feb. 23, 2021, to discuss measures against the novel coronavirus pandemic with governors of neighboring Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures and economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura. (Kyodo)