Q: What will change now that a state of emergency has been declared?
A: The powers of governors in prefectures for which a state of emergency has been declared will be bolstered to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Based on the revised law on special measures to deal with new strains of influenza, the governors will be able to call on residents to voluntarily refrain from going out for nonessential and nonurgent purposes. They will also be empowered to request and direct restrictions on and suspensions of the use of facilities where many people gather, including schools, day care centers and large-scale theaters. If owners of land and buildings refuse to build temporary medical treatment facilities and if suppliers do not comply with requests to sell pharmaceuticals, food and so forth, compulsory acquisition will be possible.
It is possible to expect a bigger effect than in situations where measures are not based on law.
Q: How is a state of emergency declaration different from a lockdown?
A: The declaration does not ban people from going out for reasons necessary for living nor halt the operation of public transportation. So it will not amount to a lockdown as seen in Europe and the United States.
Going out is banned in principle in European countries and the United States. Violators are fined in some of these countries. New York state has made it mandatory for business operators to ban all but a few of their employees from reporting to offices and is imposing fines on violators.
Q: There is concern about whether people's rights will be restricted.
A: The revised law on special measures to deal with new strains of influenza provides a clause on the protection of human rights that calls for keeping restrictions on freedoms and rights to the bare minimum.
Q: Is there any possibility that the state of emergency will be lifted before its expiration in one month? Alternatively, can it be extended?
A: The government will be able to lift or extend the state of emergency after hearing the opinions of experts and reporting to the Diet any decisions to that effect, just as when the declaration was issued. The same process will be followed if the areas subject to the declaration and duration of the state of emergency are changed.
At a House of Representatives steering committee session on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the timing for lifting the declaration is when "the possibility of an explosive increase in the number of persons infected with coronavirus has considerably decreased to a low level." The change in the number of newly infected persons in the areas covered by the declaration is regarded as a yardstick to decide whether to lift the emergency declaration.
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