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TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three adjacent prefectures on Thursday (January 7) to combat rising coronavirus infections.
The state of emergency would take effect on Friday and run until February 7, he said at the beginning of a meeting of the government working group on COVID-19 countermeasures.
The proposed emergency declaration was approved at a morning meeting, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. Its restrictions focus on measures to combat transmission in bars and restaurants, cited by the government as key risk areas.
Although even less affected by the pandemic than many countries in the world, Japan recorded new daily infections that exceeded 6,000 for the first time on Wednesday.
The capital also announced a record 2,447 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, up from a record 1,591 the day before, the metropolitan government said.
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The restrictions will be imposed in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, about 30 percent of the country’s population.
Measures to be included in the state of emergency starting Friday include asking restaurants and bars to close before 8 p.m., asking residents to refrain from making non-urgent exits, urging teleworking, and limiting attendance to sporting and other large events to 5,000 people.
The four prefectures are home to around 150,000 restaurants and bars.
But medical experts have said they fear the government’s plans may be inadequate, with new cases reaching peak levels across the country.
Government officials have been in talks with experts this week to assess steps to try to control the increase with as little damage to the economy as possible.
With his sights set on the impending Tokyo Olympics and the fragile state of the world’s third-largest economy, Suga has favored limited restrictions.
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The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Thursday morning that the upcoming Olympic Games torch displays in the capital have been postponed “to reduce the flow of people and the further spread of COVID-19.”
Prime Minister Suga has said that shorter hours of operation for bars and restaurants have helped reduce cases in regions like Osaka and Hokkaido.
But in a worrying sign, Osaka reported Wednesday that new cases easily surpassed its previous record, with 560 infections, while in Hokkaido cases surpassed 100 for the first time in a week.
“Depending on how the infections spread from now on, we may need to think about a state of emergency across the country,” Toshio Nakagawa, president of the Japan Medical Association, said Wednesday.
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According to simulations by Kyoto University scientist Hiroshi Nishiura, daily infections in Tokyo could reach 3,500 per day in February and 7,000 in March without further measures. An emergency declaration should last at least two months to bring infections to manageable levels, he said.
Food and beverage establishments are already suffering.
Tokyo-based Teikoku Databank said this week that bankruptcies in the sector reached an all-time high of 780 in 2020, up from a previous year’s record of 732. Local media said the government would increase the maximum compensation for the business of restaurants at 60,000 yen (US $ 582) a day from 40,000 yen.
The flexible curfew caused some companies not covered by the program, including department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi and Tokyo Disney Resort, to cut their hours as well.
Analysts now say the new state of emergency would likely trigger an economic contraction in the first quarter, a reversal of a 2.1 percent annualized expansion forecast in a Reuters poll last month.
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