Japan is easing up on its concerns about the severity of its swine flu outbreak and local authorities are re-opening schools in the most affected areas.

Local governments such as the Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, where the majority of H1N1 cases were detected, said at the weekend that they would re-open the thousands of schools, kindergartens, universities and senior-citizen centres shut over the past week in an attempt to prevent the number of flu cases from spreading.