Tokyo government considered economic impact of travel exclusion - Kyodo

"Since Tokyo's economy is extremely large and has a big ripple effect on the whole country, we agreed in cooperation with the national government," to make the request, the agency quoted Koike as saying.

Japan's cities of Osaka and Sapporo were excluded from the travel programme as coronavirus infections surged to record highs, and there had been speculation Tokyo could also be excluded.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)