Japan PM Abe: Lockdown of Tokyo would have a severe impact on the economy

Speaking before the parliament on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that a lockdown of Tokyo would have a severe impact on the economy, given the key role it plays in the country amid a huge population.

Abe quoted: "For now, I don't think we need to call a state of emergency. But it's very important to respond appropriately since the Tokyo metropolitan area has a huge population."

This comes after the metropolitan government confirmed that Tokyo had 259 total cases of COVID-19 infection as of Thursday night.

USD/JPY eyes 108.00

The USD/JPY pair is down over 1% near 108.30, having extended the previous slide amid ongoing US dollar weakness across the board while a cautious market mood, reflective of the losses in the S&P 500 futures, underpins the safe-haven bids for the yen.