Japan to declare state of emergency over coronavirus

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will on Tuesday declare a state of emergency in parts of the country, including Tokyo, over a spike in coronavirus infections. “I have decided that a situation gravely affecting people’s life and the economy has occurred. This evening, I plan to call a government headquarters meeting and declare a state of emergency,” Abe said Tuesday.

He announced the plan a day earlier, citing “rapid increases of new infections, particularly in urban areas like Tokyo and Osaka”. The declaration is expected to take effect from midnight and will empower governors of seven affected regions to ask people to stay inside and businesses to close their doors. But it stops far short of the sort of lockdown seen in parts of Europe and the United States, with no enforcement mechanism to keep people indoors or shutter businesses, nor penalties for those who fail to comply.

Experts and local leaders have pushed for the declaration, and 80 percent of people polled by public broadcaster TBS over the weekend said they backed the move. Seven regions will be affected: Tokyo, neighbouring Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama, the western hub of Osaka and neighbouring Hyogo, and the southwestern region of Fukuoka.