Drone shows empty schools and malls in Japan

Japan's coronavirus lockdown brought the country to a virtual standstill during the Golden Week holidays earlier this month.

It would normally have been one of the busiest times of the year.

But drone footage shown by broadcaster JNN-TBS on Tuesday showed how the lockdown emptied everything from schools and shopping malls to public libraries.

Japan's academic year normally begins in April, but most schools were closed after the government declared a national state of emergency on April 7 to slow the spread of the virus.

Shopping malls, movie theaters and pachinko parlors were asked to suspend operations to prevent people from gathering in confined spaces.

Now, much of Japan is opening up after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the restrictions in 39 of the country's 47 prefectures.

Experts are expected to meet later this week to decide whether the measures can be lifted in the remaining areas, including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido and four other prefectures.

Japan has had 16,305 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and reported 749 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.