By Eimi Yamamitsu and Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he is considering extending a state of emergency beyond Tokyo to Aichi prefecture, home of Toyota Motor Corp., and other central and western areas to spread the word. COVID-19 to limit.
“We are now measuring the situation,” he told the Asahi newspaper.
A state of emergency gives local authorities the legal basis to place restrictions on residents’ movements and businesses, but under Japanese law, the power to declare it rests with the prime minister.
In response to pressure from Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures in eastern Japan’s mainland Honshu, Suga declared a state of emergency for that region until February 7 last week.
But the number of coronavirus cases has also risen in the west, prompting Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to seek a state of emergency. The central prefectures of Aichi and Gifu on Tuesday also called for the government to be included in the state of emergency.
The government is now planning to do so as early as Wednesday, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing government sources.
The addition of the five prefectures means about half of the population of 126 million people in Japan living under emergency restrictions.
Japan’s top cabinet spokesman, Cabinet Secretary-General Katsunobu Kato, did not confirm the report and only said that the government would consider measures for a ‘quick response’ to the Osaka area.
ANSWER CRITICIZED
Suga has been criticized for what many people call a slow, confusing and broken response to the pandemic as infections move near record highs.
About 79% of respondents in a Kyodo poll published on Sunday said its decision to declare the emergency for Tokyo came too late.
Daily affairs peaked at 7,882 last Friday, bringing the total score to nearly 300,000, public broadcaster NHK said.
In an effort to help the struggling services sector, the government offered generous subsidies to encourage citizens to travel and eat domestically, only to interrupt the effort late last year as virus cases skyrocketed.
Now residents of the Tokyo area are being asked to stay indoors as much as possible and insist that bars and restaurants will close at 8pm.
“Please do not be afraid to go out not only at night but also during the day,” Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Twitter, saying the day trips did not go down during the three-day weekend, despite the emergency.
Like many countries, Japan is struggling to balance efforts to curb the virus against damage to its economy, which is the third largest in the world.
With the incoming tourism on hold, the hotel industry has borne the brunt. Last year, 118 hotels went bankrupt, accounting for about 47% of total bankruptcies, a survey by Tokyo Shoko Research showed.
Finance Minister Taro Aso said the government would offer one-off payments of up to 400,000 yen ($ 3,835) to businesses that support restaurants and bars that shorten hours, such as suppliers of disposable sticks and wet towels.
The maximum compensation for the restaurants themselves will increase by 50%, Suga said.
According to the latest emergency measures, Aso did not require that already prepared state budgets be reformed.
(Reported by Eimi Yamamitsu, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Chris Gallagher, Leika Kihara and Chang-Ran Kim; Written by Chang-Ran Kim; Edited by Lincoln Feast, Gerry Doyle and Alex Richardson)