TOKYO -- On Sunday afternoon, two days before declaring a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe corralled a handful of key officials involved in the coronavirus response.
A larger meeting of the task force had just concluded a short update meeting, and the prime minister asked a few members, including Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and Health Minister Katsunobu Kato, to stay in the room.
