The decision on Thursday to request school closures "was made in a top-down fashion, solely by the prime minister, including the period of closure," a senior government official said.
The government initially sought flexible measures to prevent the spread of new coronavirus infections, such as moving up spring break, according to the official.
Regarding the period of the school closures, Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Koichi Hagiuda indicated that he was not consulted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe beforehand. He told reporters after the prime minister's speech: "[At a task force meeting on the new coronavirus] I said around two weeks as a guide, but it was a bit wider [in the announcement]. I will sort it out."
The government's response to the problem has been strongly criticized as "being one step behind everything" after a number of passengers and crew members aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship became infected with the virus. With the spread of the infection nationwide, opinion polls conducted by media outlets have increasingly shown drops in the Cabinet's approval rating.
A government panel of experts on countermeasures against the new coronavirus pointed out in its report Monday that it is important to take measures at schools and other educational institutions, as they "play a significant role in preventing the rapid spread of the virus." The prime minister is believed to have taken a drastic action based on the report.
However, the basic policy for addressing the new coronavirus adopted by the government on Tuesday only said that school closures would be "requested from the prefectural governments and others to the school owners" when the number of patients increases in the future. Some members of the panel voiced their confusion, saying "There was no prior consultation [about the prime minister's speech]" and "I wonder if it is effective in areas where there are no infected people."
The final decision on whether to temporarily close schools will be made by local governments and educational corporations that own the schools. The central government has no legal authority to force schools to close and the prime minister can only request the closure. As a result, the decision to close schools may vary from region to region.
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