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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe takes off his face mask as he arrives to speak to the media on Japan's response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan on April 6, 2020. (REUTERS File Photo)
TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a state of emergency across a large part of the country on Thursday, but said the biggest urban centres of Tokyo and Osaka will remain under restrictions until there is a convincing containment of the new coronavirus.
Abe announced the lifting of the emergency in 39 of Japan's 47 prefectures, as the country strives to balance the damage to the economy from prolonged shutdowns and the need to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
