Japan on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas as coronavirus cases continue to rise, reaching a daily record of 2,447 in the capital.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has issued the statement to the government task force on the coronavirus. It runs from Friday to February 7 and focuses on asking restaurants and bars to close at 8pm and people should stay home and not mix in the crowd.
The statement does not imply any fines. But it works as a strong request while Japan keeps juggling its economy going.
JAPANESE GOVERNMENTS ASK STATEMENT OF EMERGENCY
Shopping malls and schools will remain open. Movie theaters, museums and other events will be asked to reduce attendance. Places that refuse the request will be published on a list, according to officials, while those who comply will be eligible for assistance.
“I am confident that we can overcome this, but I must ask you all to endure a limited life for a while longer,” Suga told reporters after the statement.
He promised more help for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. The Japanese military is ready to help, and efforts are being made to get a vaccine approved and delivered, he added.
“Please take this matter as your own, to protect all precious lives, your parents, your grandparents, family and friends, across generations,” Suga said.
The effects of the Coronavirus increased in Japan after the end of the year and the New Year holidays.
Shigeru Omi, a doctor who heads the government panel on coronavirus measures, described the latest wave as “explosive” and demanded an emergency declaration.
Tokyo recorded record numbers of daily business on Wednesday after 1,591. Nationwide, business has grown steadily by more than 5,000 a day.
Some experts believe that Japan should have acted earlier, and a government campaign to promote domestic travel through discounts was a mistake.
Opinions about eating early eateries are diverse, as places could get very crowded sooner.
Dr. Hiroshi Nishiura, an expert on infectious diseases, said the increase in number of cases would slow down but infections would still increase. He believes more drastic action is needed.
Customers drinking at a bar on Thursday 7 January 2021 in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures to step up defense against the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
Vaccinations are expected to begin in Japan next month, with health and emergency workers. The deployment is likely to take months.
Dr. Atsuo Hamada, an infection expert and professor at Tokyo Medical University Hospital, said it would help limit drinking and eating at night.
“When people go out to eat at night, they tend to get drunk, talk out loud and sing so that air pollution spreads faster,” he said in a recent telephone interview.
Keeping the COVID-19 infections under control is essential for Japan with the Tokyo Olympics to be held in July. Politicians have repeatedly stressed that this must continue despite an increasingly dubious public.
VIRUS PULLS DISTRIBUTION OLYMPIC BIRDS EXHIBITION IN JAPAN
A similar state of emergency was issued last April to the end of May and eventually extended to apply nationwide.
The effort was largely effective. Japanese tend to follow orders from authorities, even without threats. Almost everyone wore masks.
A legal change is needed to allow fines in emergency declarations, and such a move will be considered in parliament. A strict closure, as in Europe, is not considered.
A woman wearing a face mask to curb the spread of the new coronavirus walks through a bar street on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The Japanese capital on Wednesday confirmed more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist of SMBC Nikko Securities, said that the economic damage due to the statement would be limited, and that real growth in the domestic product is likely to decline by 0.2 percentage points in the first quarter of 2021.
“The emergency last year affected a larger part of the economy, and it coincided with the time when the economy was already struggling amid strong global trade,” he said.
Other economists have a slightly larger negative impact on GDP.
During the second quarter of last year, the Japanese economy shrank by almost 8%, but gradually recovered and grew by 5% in the period July-September 2020.
Trade has stagnated, although hopes are high for a gradual recovery. Some parts of Asia are not as affected by the coronavirus as the US and Europe.
Maruyama said the restaurant and hotel sector would not be shut down, and that government assistance was needed.
Shingo Sakai, who runs the French restaurants of La Rochelle in Tokyo, says delicious food lasts more than two hours and his customers usually do not arrive at the office after 6pm.
“We must maintain our food quality and at the same time we must maintain our reputation by following the government order,” he said.
“I have to think about saving costs to keep the business alive. There’s no place to cut costs because I’ve been doing it for the last six months. There’s no room for that.”
Japan’s unemployment rate has risen but has not skyrocketed, to around 3%. According to Tokyo Shoko Research, there are currently about 800 bankruptcies associated with the coronavirus.
But malls are crowded, a situation that has contributed to the latest virus wave.
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According to the Ministry of Health, some 250,000 cases have been confirmed nationwide with more than 3,700 deaths. Hospitals are getting thinner.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the heads of neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures called on the government to declare relief over the weekend.
“We must now realize that viral infections have entered a whole new phase,” she said. “Tokyo makes the protection of human life a top priority.”