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TOKYO: Japan does not need another state of emergency to deal with the new coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday (November 13), despite seeing a record number of new cases daily as the weather gets cold.
“The experts still do not feel that we are in a situation where we should institute another state of emergency,” Suga told reporters.
Japan first imposed a state of emergency in April and lifted it at the end of the following month.
The daily national infection count rose to a record 1,685 on Friday, state-run NHK television said, breaking a record set the previous day.
Tokyo recorded 374 infections on Friday, slightly less than the day before, but other areas posted record daily highs.
Japan has had 116,220 total coronavirus cases and nearly 2,000 deaths, according to NHK figures.
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Suga also said there is no need to change a controversial national tourism promotion initiative that critics say could be contributing to the spread of the virus.
The government’s “Go to Travel” plan aims to support the devastated travel industry by encouraging national tourism with subsidies.
When asked later when the initiative might end, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that would depend on several factors.
“We will have to consider the situation with coronavirus infections, the recovery of demand in the tourism industry and factors such as the budget,” he said at a press conference.
Experts said that if infections in an area increased beyond a certain point, that area should be removed from the travel initiative, he said.
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