Tokyo — In what was seen as a long-awaited bow to the inevitable, Japanese Prime Minister Abe has announced he will declare a national state of emergency over the growing coronavirus epidemic in the country. To take effect Tuesday, the action will cover most of Japan's densely populated metro areas — Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa; and Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka to the west.
The seven jurisdictions have a combined population of 55.9 million — accounting for about one out of every two Japanese residents.
Reports say the government had considered shutting down for up to six months, but Abe said the declaration will be in force for one month, until May 6.
Tokyo is among ten localities logging over 100 coronavirus cases each; Tokyo alone has exceeded 1,000 infections, doubling its cases in less than a week.
Local governors, the Japan Medical Association and others have been urging a shutdown, warning that waiting for cases to spike risked the collapse of the national health care system. The prospect of a skyrocketing rate of infection was a particularly grim prospect for the world's fastest-aging country.
"We need your cooperation to prevent an explosive surge," Abe said in a brief news conference Monday evening, appealing to residents for calm and making a point of saying Japan's shutdown would be far less heavy-handed than lockdowns seen in the U. S. and Europe.
"If you ask me if we can enforce a lockdown like France, the answer is no," Abe told a meeting of Japan's legislature last week.
Most of the measures being taken are "requests" for restraint. Residents are being asked to work from home and leave only for essentials, like buying food and seeing the doctor, aside from taking a walk. Essential businesses like supermarkets and drug stores will sta... (Read more)
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