TOKYO -- Japan has relaxed some restrictions on retailers, even as the government extended a state of emergency for nine prefectures, but department store operators remain downbeat about their business prospects.
On Tuesday, just over a month before the Olympic Games are set to kick off, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government extended the state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and seven other prefectures to June 20. The state of emergency was declared on April 25 and has since been extended twice.
