
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has cancelled plans to visitIndiaand thePhilippinesduring his country's extended holiday starting in late Aprilamida sharp rise inCOVID-19cases, a senior government spokesman said on Wednesday.
Japan's government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and several other prefectures, whileIndian data showed on Wednesday there had been 295,041 new infections nationwide overnight and 2,023 deaths,India's highest in the pandemic.
Asked about media reports that Suga'stripto the two countries has been cancelled, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said: "In order to take all possible coronavirus countermeasures, it has been decided Prime Minister Suga won't take any overseastrips during the Golden Week."
JapanandIndiaare members of a group known as the Quad, which also includes the United States and Australia.
Quad leaders last month pledged to work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to cooperate on maritime, cyber and economic security, issues vital to the four democracies in the face of challenges from China.
Suga'sIndiatripwould have enabled him to hold his first in-person summit meeting withIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Suga has already held face-to-face talks with two other leaders from the Quad - USPresident Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.