i'm oshie ogasawara.e start in tokyo, where the metropolitan government is considering lifting its coronavirus alert. if this happens, the decision is expected to come into effect starting friday. the government issued a tokyo alert on june 2nd, after a spike in cases. the alert urges residentnts to remain vigilant against the virus. >> translator: e experts will study the number of cases and consider the situation of the e medical care systems. once this happens, we will make a decision. >> so far, tokyo has reported 22 newly-confirmed cases on thursday. the previous four days the daily figure was below 20. covid-19 states for the rest earn region are disproportionately low. the world health organization says about a quarter of the population lives in the region, but it's seen nearly 3% of the world's coronavirus cases and about 2% of deaths. nhk world spoke with an expert from the w.h.o. to find out why. >> reporter: it's been widely discussed around the world. why did asia see the beginning, but not th