The governors of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa are asking the central government to declare another state of emergency amid the surge in novel coronavirus cases. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will be forced to make a difficult decision that takes into account both the state of the health care system and how a declaration would impact the economy.
-- Cross-purposes
"We agreed to work together closely in our response to all kinds of possible situations," said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economic revitalization minister heading the central government's coronavirus response, after meeting with the four governors Saturday, indicating the central government is including an emergency declaration among its options.
The central government plans to convene a meeting of its expert subcommittee to discuss the pros and cons of issuing another emergency declaration.
Suga has so far consistently been hesitant to issue another declaration. This is because the economy is in dire straits due to the prolonged period of self-restraint.
He was quoted as saying, "A declaration is, so to speak, a dangerous drug that could invite further economic deterioration and chain-reaction corporate bankruptcies."
The central and metropolitan governments have struggled to coordinate their views on how to control infections, including whether to issue a declaration. These problems appear likely to remain unresolved.
The central government believes the main factor causing infections to spread in Tokyo is dinner parties and has pushed the metropolitan government to ask restaurants and other establishments to close even earlier. The current request is to close by 10 p.m., which the central government wants moved up to 8 p.m.
However, when Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike was asked about the 8 p.m. proposal at the press conference Saturday, she said only: "The assembly has various procedures. We will continue to listen closely to the central government's requests and seek effective methods."
A senior central government official expressed dissatisfaction with Tokyo's request for another emergency declaration, saying: "Tokyo first needs to boldly ask businesses to refrain from operating. The order is backward."
-- COVID-19 fatigue
However, some people within the central government see the deteriorating situation in Tokyo and think, "there's nothing else drastic that can be done other than issuing another declaration," according to a senior Cabinet Secretariat official.
"When you look at the number of people in the commercial districts of Tokyo, it's obvious people are becoming accustomed to the coronavirus and self-restraint is not being as effective as we expected," a senior Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry official said. "A declaration is a means of encouraging people to get serious about self-restraint."
The effect of simply announcing an emergency declaration under the Special Measures Law is expected to tighten up public attitudes.
The metropolitan government decided to seek a declaration out of a sense of crisis that "the current request for self-restraint is not halting the spread of infections," a senior Tokyo official said.
The metropolitan government thought of declaring its own state of emergency, but decided it would be more effective to work with the three other prefectures and request a regional declaration due to the large number of people who travel between them, sources said.
On Dec. 14, Suga decided to suspend the national tourism promotion program Go To Travel over the end-of-year and New Year's holiday period, but the central government's response to the pandemic has been seen as a step behind.
If Suga still resists declaring another state of emergency even in the face of the request from the four governors and infections continue to spread, criticism of his government may also increase.
A former Cabinet minister said some ruling Liberal Democratic Party members think "it's better for the nation to send a strong message early by issuing a declaration."
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