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TOKYO: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will request the central government on Saturday (January 2) to declare a state of emergency following the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, local media reported.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will make the request in a meeting with Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who coordinates the government’s measures to combat the pandemic, the Nikkei newspaper said, citing multiple sources.
Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, will make a similar request to the government on Saturday, national broadcaster NHK reported.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has resisted calls to restore the state of emergency, which the government instituted in April during an earlier wave of the pandemic.
It relied on voluntary business closures and travel restrictions rather than the kind of rigid lockdown measures seen in parts of Europe and the United States.
Tokyo raised its COVID-19 alert level to its highest on December 17 and asked restaurants and other businesses to close at 10 p.m. (1300 GMT).
New COVID-19 infections in Tokyo reached a record 1,337 on December 31.
A national record was also set on December 31 with 4,520 new cases.
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