The leaders of the six prefectures in Japan's Tohoku region and neighboring Niigata Prefecture urged people to refrain from leaving home or traveling across prefectural borders in a joint declaration released Friday as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
With the Golden Week holiday period looming, the mayors of Sendai and Niigata cities also joined in the joint declaration issued by the governors of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures in the Tohoku region and Niigata Prefecture.
The declaration strongly addresses travelers and those returning home from outside their prefectures, hoping to restrict travel to and from Hokkaido to the north as well as the Kanto and Kansai regions, where the number of infected people is high.
They also requested that business operators promote telecommuting and flextime options to their employees.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai stressed the significance of the joint declaration during a press conference in Sendai, saying, "The Tohoku region and the city of Niigata is one regionally united body."
"I feel that it is beneficial for [all of the local governments] to act in accordance to convey this message rather than doing so independently in order to send the strong message of 'We'll strive together [to combat the virus],'" he said.
Governors of Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures in the northern Kanto region also issued an urgent joint message Friday, urging people to refrain from travel across the prefectures and to avoid any nonessential and nonurgent outings including visits to hometowns.
Tochigi Gov. Tomikazu Fukuda said, "We issue our message across the nation that the three prefectures are putting forth a strong united effort to stop the spread of this disease."
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