Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures want a new tool to fight surging coronavirus cases. Their leaders will ask the central government to announce a quasi-emergency.

This would give governors the authority to beef up anti-infection measures. That could mean asking restaurants and bars to shorten business hours or stop serving alcohol.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko said: "We are seeing infections spread at an unprecedented speed. We need to keep our society running, while trying to contain the infection."

Tokyo has reported more than 3,700 new cases ? the most ever for a Monday. The count is four times as high as exactly one week ago.
But Tokyo's governor is more concerned about hospitals. About one in five beds designated as being for coronavirus patients is now occupied, which is a benchmark she set for introducing this next step.

The prefectures of Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima are already taking intensive measures.

Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures want to join them. So do Aichi, Gifu, Mie and Niigata.

Spurred by the Omicron variant, nationwide case numbers have been nearing last year's record high.

Weekend tallies were close to the almost 26,000 cases reported in August.

The government is still early in its booster shot rollout and wants to speed things up.

The Self-Defense Forces are opening a vaccination center in Tokyo at the end of this month that will inoculate around 2,000 people a day.

The Defense Ministry plans to set up a similar facility in Osaka.