All networks reported at noon that the Tokyo government is making arrangements to ask the central government as early as today to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency for the prefecture. NHK said that while the number of new cases in Tokyo is on a downward trend, the weekly average for May 19-25 remained high at 611. As highly contagious variants of COVID-19 are replacing the original virus, Tokyo is strongly concerned that the number of new cases will quickly increase again if the state of emergency is lifted. Tokyo Governor Koike told the press today: “Thanks to the cooperation of eateries and cultural facilities, we are seeing some improvement. However, we have yet to contain the virus and we must also take the progress of vaccination into consideration.”