AKIPRESS.COM - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has suggested he might extend the country's state of emergency by about a month, BBC reports.

Mr Abe said he would base his final decision on the advice of a panel of experts, which said that while the number of cases appeared to be on the decline, the situation was not as good as they would like. The current emergency is set to expire on 6 May. Mr Abe said he would make a final decision on Monday.

"Thanks to the efforts of our citizens, we have managed to avoid an explosion of cases as has been seen overseas," he told reporters.

"But the medical situation remains tough and we must call for further co-operation from our nation."

Japan, with a population of 126 million, has had more than 14,000 cases and 430 deaths from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.