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TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures on Thursday (January 7), amid an increase in the number of cases.
The decree takes effect at midnight in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama, home to 36.8 million people in one of the world’s busiest metropolitan areas, and will be in effect until February 7.
The Go To Travel tourism campaign at the national level will also be suspended until the same date.
The toughest measure came as Tokyo set a new one-day high of 2,447 new cases, a 53% increase from the previous record of 1,591 cases just a day earlier, and the number of severe cases rose to a record 121. Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba rewrote records with 679, 460, and 450 cases respectively.
“The situation has become increasingly worrying and we share a sense of an intensifying crisis,” Suga told a news conference. “We must stop the spread of infections, hence this state of emergency, and we want effective and efficient measures to be implemented.”
He said the duration and scope of the state of emergency will be reviewed and that it could be extended or improved again if more aggressive measures are deemed required.
Japan has been struggling to stem the third wave of Covid-19 infections, and the crisis has intensified across the country. There were at least 7,490 cases Thursday, also a new one-day high, as the number of critically ill patients reached a new record high of 796.
Suga was long reluctant to call an emergency for fear of intractable financial problems, with bankruptcies and suicides skyrocketing to new highs last year. The Labor Ministry said Thursday that more than 80,000 jobs were lost in the pandemic.
Rather than proactively taking the initiative, the government stood firm even as the first signs of a “third wave” began to be evident in November. He refused to crack down until media polls showed the approval rating for Suga’s cabinet plummeted, and the emergency decree followed a request by governors in the Greater Tokyo area for the national government will consider one last Saturday.
The decree has been disparaged as being too little, too late and too half-hearted to stem the outbreak with the Olympics less than 200 days away. Experts questioned its effectiveness, given the limited scope.
Nothing has been closed, unlike the first emergency from April 7 to May 25 last year. Rather, the decree targets restaurants and bars by asking them to close at 8 p.m., two hours earlier than the previously largely ignored 10 p.m. guideline, except for delivery service and takeout. Mr. Suga quoted the experts as saying that these are “high risk areas”.
While there are no legal means to impose sanctions on companies that do not comply, Japan will incentivize those who adhere to the curfew with 60,000 yen (S $ 767) a day and will shame those who do not.
Events can still be held, but must be limited to 5,000 people or half the capacity of a venue, whichever is less.
Elsewhere, entertainment establishments, department stores and sports venues may remain open, but are encouraged to close before 8pm, albeit without the promised incentives or penalties. Tokyo Disney Resort, Isetan Department Store and Ginza Six Mall are among those that have said they will comply.
Schools will remain open, and national college entrance exams will go ahead as planned this month.
Mr. Suga said his goal was to reduce movement by 70 percent by encouraging wider adoption of telecommuting and for people to “exercise self-control and refrain from going out after 8pm for non-essential outings.”
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan’s point man for the Covid-19 strategy, said on Thursday that an indicator to lift the state of emergency was a reduction from the one-week moving average of Tokyo cases to fewer than 500 infections. . The number stood at 1,230 on Thursday.
To strengthen the emergency orders, the government is ready to debate new laws to impose penalties on companies that do not comply. On Thursday, the Mainichi daily quoted sources as saying that those who disobey the guidelines could face fines of up to 500,000 yen under the bill.
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