TOKYO (AP) – Japan began its first day under a coronavirus emergency on Friday with much of life going on normally, including morning trains carrying crowds of people wearing masks at busy stations.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated his call for restaurants to shorten business hours and for people to work from home.
“We take this very seriously. I would certainly like to overcome this difficult situation with the cooperation of the people,” Suga told reporters.
The emergency runs until February 7. The statement is asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 pm, while drinks will not be served after 7 pm.
It applies to Tokyo and the three neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.
Across the country, confirmed COVID-19 cases reached about 260,000, with more than 7,500 new cases reported on Friday.
“The infection is the biggest of all regions in the country,” said Suga.
Suga promised legal revisions, including allowing penalties and other measures to add more force to the requests. They will be studied in parliament later this month.
The declaration is expected to have some influence on conformist Japan. Some companies have resisted working remotely and the state of emergency can help workers assert their desire to stay at home.
But much of life will remain the same, with schools, sporting events, shops and cinemas open, but with social distance and measures for wearing masks. Crowds are expected to diminish at night.
The previous emergency situation, declared in April and May, although broader in scope and area, had some effect in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
The number of daily cases in Tokyo has gone up, reaching a daily record of 2,447 on Thursday. The goal is to reduce them to 500, according to officials.
Like many other Tokyo residents, Kazue Kuramitsu was already pessimistic about how long it could take for things to get back to normal.
“Starting today, we will be basically in a battle for a month. But I don’t think the spread will stop, ”she said.
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Associated Press video journalist Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.
Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HarukaNuga and Yuri Kageyama at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama