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Speaking at a regular New Year’s press conference, Suga also said that he expected the vaccination campaign in Japan to start in late February, adding that he would be one of the first people to be vaccinated in the country.
The prime minister urged compatriots to avoid unnecessary travel and said the government will pass legislation penalizing companies that ignore requests to reduce working hours or close, and will provide incentives to companies that take such calls.
Suga also assured him that his cabinet remained committed to hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which had been postponed due to this summer’s pandemic, and stressed that the Games would be “proof that humanity has overcome the virus.”
Suga, who took office in September, is under increasing pressure from his government’s response to a record spike in new infections.
Japan has restricted the early entry of foreigners, generously funded a funding contact tracking system, and actively supported a social distance campaign that has long prevented the spread of an uncontrolled pandemic, writes CNN.
On Saturday, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, along with leaders from three other neighboring regions, called on the central government to impose a state of emergency on their prefectures.
However, so far the government has been in no rush to take steps that could send the economy back into recession.
However, Suga said on Monday that he understood that “a stronger signal is needed.”
“The national government will consider declaring a state of emergency,” said the head of government, adding that priority will be given to measures to reduce the risk of infection in catering establishments and bars.
Vaccination plan
Tokyo reported 884 new cases of coronavirus infection daily on Monday. They also reported that the number of severe cases of patients undergoing artificial lung ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has risen to 108. This number is the highest since the start of the pandemic.
In the spring, Japan had already declared a state of emergency, allowing local governments to urge companies to stop their operations and ask residents to stay home.
These measures were of an advisory nature and no sanctions were imposed for non-compliance. In the spring, however, these recommendations were more or less followed.
It is not yet clear what restrictions would apply if the state of emergency were re-declared. However, the Nikkei daily reported that the government would not seek to close schools. Suga said “limited and specific measures” had been implemented, but did not provide further details.
Local media reported that a state of emergency could be declared on Saturday, but the information has not yet been confirmed.
In Japan, the COVID-19 outbreak is relatively small compared to the rest of the world. Since January, when the first case of coronavirus infection was detected in Japan, just under 3,500 people have died from COVID-19 in the country.
Japan, unlike many other countries, has dispensed with a strict quarantine and legal mechanism to force companies to close and the population to stay home.
Suga said the government expects to receive data on vaccines from US companies by the end of January. According to him, mass vaccination could begin at the end of February.
“First of all, we want to start vaccinating medical personnel, the elderly and people who work in nursing homes,” the prime minister said.
“I will also be one of the first to be vaccinated,” Suga said, probably hoping to use his example to encourage Japanese vaccines to get vaccinated against the pandemic coronavirus.
A new jump in morbidity is taking place just over six months before the Tokyo Winter Olympics, which had to be postponed last spring due to a pandemic.
The 2020 Olympics became the first Games in history to be postponed out of the war.
Despite the optimism of organizers and officials, opinion polls show that the majority of Japanese are opposed to the organization of the Olympics this summer and believe they should be postponed again or canceled altogether.
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