A surge in Covid-19 cases has forced Japan to declare a second state of emergency. But the government plans to impose limited restrictions, hoping to minimise economic disruption at a time when the country is recovering from an earlier pandemic-driven downturn.
Premier Yoshihide Suga's government has declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the three neighbouring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama starting from tomorrow to rein in new cases of Covid-19 and help relieve the pressure on medical services. The emergency measure will remain in place for a month until 7 February.
This is the country's second emergency declaration to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Japan declared its first state of emergency in April-May last year, pushing its economy to a record contraction during the April-June quarter. The economy rebounded by 22.9pc in July-September from the previous quarter.
The number of new daily infections in Japan has been soaring since last November and yesterday topped 6,000 for the first time, compared with a high of 700 during the first emergency period in April 2020 and around 1,000 in early November. Tokyo and the three adjacent prefectures are making up around half of total daily infections.
Under the new state of emergency, restaurants and bars must close by 8pm in Tokyo and its surrounding areas. Residents are requested to stay home, particularly after 8pm, unless there are urgent reasons not to do so.
The government is also urging companies in the areas to ensure 70pc of their staff work remotely as part of efforts to reduce the level of people movement and interaction. Schools will be allowed to stay open, while the number of spectators at events will be capped at half capacity, or a maximum of 5,000.
The second emergency declaration will focus more on restaurants and bars as Tokyo considers it vital to reduce virus transmission risks without much economic impact, particularly ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which has been postponed by a year. The government last month also suspended nationwide travel campaigns in the wake of soaring new Covid-19 infections.
But the state of emergency may be expanded to other areas, or even nationwide, potentially dealing a blow to Japan's economy and industry. Covid-19 infections are increasing in other major business and industrial areas including Aichi prefecture's Nagoya and western Japanese prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto. Their governors have asked residents to refrain from travelling to Tokyo and its nearby areas during the emergency period and hinted that they may ask the government to also declare a state of emergency in their respective prefectures if the situation worsens.
The state of emergency may also be extended if it fails to effectively control Covid-19 infections. Economic minister Yasutoshi Nishimura today told parliament that the government is targeting to reduce the number of new Covid-19 infections to 25 per 100,000 residents in one week, before lifting the second state of emergency in Tokyo and its nearby areas. This is equivalent to around 500 daily new infections for Tokyo. The number of new cases hit a record 2,447 in Tokyo today.
Japan last year imposed tough quarantine restrictions under its first state of emergency, initially in areas near Tokyo and Osaka. The state of emergency was later expanded nationwide and ended in two months. A pandemic-driven economic slowdown and reduced trade flows globally hampered manufacturing activity in the country during April-June last year, while travel curbs dampened demand for motor and jet fuels.
