Crowds at the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo on December 30th.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Japan’s position against declaring another state of emergency appears to be changing, as coronavirus infections fueled by the onset of cold weather showed no signs of abating, even after the country stepped up containment measures.
The Tokyo metropolitan government is considering a request to the central government to declare a state of emergency, national broadaster NHK reported, without mentioning how it obtained the information. On Wednesday, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister responsible for responding to Japan’s coronavirus, said the country it can be considered an emergency if infections continue at the current rate.
Japanese officials have said so far that they were not considering taking such a step. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who normally says that an emergency is not being considered, ignored the direct questions on the matter Thursday night in remarks to reporters. Suga said that the most important thing is to protect the medical system and prevent the accelerated spread of the virus, and did not address the emergency directly.
Japan briefly enacted a state of emergency during April and May in response to the initial wave of coronavirus cases. The state of emergency does not allow for a total blockade, but it gives more powers to local governments, including urging residents to stay at home for a certain period of time during the emergency period.
The news comes when Japan reports a record day of new Covid-19 cases, exceeding 4,000 for the first time. Tokyo had a record 1,337 cases – a big jump and the first time the daily number has exceeded 1,000.
Some urban areas across Japan have already implemented measures, such as requesting the early closure of bars and restaurants. The government also moved forward with the decision to apply a change to the law so that it could fine restaurants that fail to comply with requests for closure earlier, Sankei reported on Friday, citing government sources familiar with the matter. The amended measures will be submitted for approval when the Diet returns to the session in January, according to the report.
Read more: Japan considers fines for closing bars early due to virus
Although the absolute numbers of infection are low in Japan compared to countries like the United States and India, the island nation has struggled with an increase in new cases that began in early November.
The government lacks legal means to enforce a blockade and its ability to contain the spread of the virus without one is now being questioned. In addition, officials have avoided strong restrictions when trying to get the country’s recessionary economy back on track.
– With the help of Kana Nishizawa