Japan PM Abe: State of emergency to be expanded nationwide until May 6

The state of emergency in Japan will be expanded nationwide until May 6th to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Thursday, as reported by Reuters.

"Japan needs to reduce traffic during Golden Week holidays," Abe added. "The government is considering making cash payouts of 100,000 yen to everyone."

Market reaction

The USD/JPY pair edged slightly higher after these remarks and was last seen trading at 107.70, where it was up 0.22% on a daily basis.