Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to rise, reaching a daily record of 2,447 in the capital.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the statement on the government’s coronavirus task force. It runs from Friday to February 7 and focuses on asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 pm and people to stay home and not mingle with the crowd.
The declaration does not entail penalties. But it works as a strong demand while Japan juggles to keep its economy running.
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Shopping centers and schools will remain open. Cinemas, museums and other events are expected to reduce attendance. Places that challenge the request will be published on a list, while those that comply will be eligible for help, according to authorities.
“I am confident that we can overcome this, but I must ask all of you to endure a restricted life for some time,” Suga told reporters after the statement.
He promised more help for hospitals that treat COVID-19 patients. The Japanese military is ready to help and efforts are underway to approve and distribute a vaccine, he added.
“Please take this matter seriously as if it were your own, to protect all precious life, your parents, your grandparents, family and friends, over the generations,” said Suga.
Coronavirus cases increased in Japan after the New Year and New Year holidays.
Shigeru Omi, a doctor who heads the government’s panel on measures against coronavirus, described the latest wave as “explosive”, demanding an emergency declaration.
Tokyo recorded a record number of daily cases for two consecutive days, after 1,591 on Wednesday. Across the country, cases have grown steadily by more than 5,000 a day.
Some experts say Japan should have acted earlier, and a government campaign to promote domestic travel through discounts was a mistake.
Opinion about restaurants closing early is mixed, as places could simply get more crowded in the early hours.
Dr. Hiroshi Nishiura, an infectious disease specialist, said the rate of increase in the number of cases will decrease, but infections will continue to increase. He believes that more drastic action is needed.
Customers drink at a bar on Thursday, January 7, 2021 in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency on Thursday for Tokyo and three other prefectures to increase defenses against the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
Vaccinations are due to start next month in Japan, first with health professionals and essentials. The launch will likely take months.
Dr. Atsuo Hamada, an infection specialist and professor at Tokyo Medical University Hospital, said that reducing nighttime consumption of drinks and meals will help.
“When people go out to eat at night, they tend to get drunk, speak out loud and sing, so that airborne infections spread more quickly,” he said in a recent telephone interview.
Keeping COVID-19 infections under control is imperative for Japan with the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July. Politicians have repeatedly emphasized that it must continue, despite an increasingly dubious audience.
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A similar state of emergency was issued from April until the end of May and was eventually extended to be applied across the country.
The effort was largely effective. The Japanese tend to follow the orders of the authorities, even without the threat of penalties. Almost everyone wears masks.
A legal change is necessary to allow penalties for emergency declarations, and such a move is set to be considered in parliament. A strict block, like those in Europe, is not being considered.
A woman wearing a face mask to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus walks down a bar street on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The Japanese capital confirmed more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said the economic damage from the declaration would be limited, with real gross domestic product growth likely to be reduced by 0.2 percentage points in the first quarter of 2021.
“Last year’s emergency affected a wider part of the economy and coincided with the time when the economy was already struggling amid falling global trade,” he said.
Other economists are projecting a slightly greater negative impact on GDP.
During the second quarter of last year, Japan’s economy shrank by almost 8%, but gradually recovered, growing by 5% in the period from July to September 2020.
Trade has stagnated, although there are high hopes for a gradual recovery. Some parts of Asia were not as affected by the coronavirus as the United States and Europe.
Still, the restaurant and hotel sectors will be hit and government aid will be needed, said Maruyama.
Shingo Sakai, who runs the French cuisine restaurants La Rochelle in Tokyo, said that fine dining takes more than two hours, and his clients don’t usually leave the office before 6 pm.
“We have to maintain the quality of our meal and, at the same time, we need to maintain our reputation following the order of the government,” he said.
“I have to think about cutting costs to keep the company alive. There is no place to cut costs because I did this in the last six months. There is no room for that.”
The unemployment rate in Japan increased, but did not increase, hovering at around 3%. Coronavirus-related bankruptcies total about 800 so far, a high number for Japan, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
But commercial districts are crowded, a situation that has contributed to the latest wave of viruses.
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About 250,000 cases have been confirmed across the country, with more than 3,700 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. Hospitals are becoming increasingly scarce.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the heads of neighboring Saitama prefectures, Chiba and Kanagawa asked the government for an emergency declaration over the weekend.
“We need to recognize now that virus infections have entered a whole new stage,” she said. “Tokyo is making protecting human life a top priority.”