Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa early Thursday evening in response to the increase in novel coronavirus infections. The declaration is expected to remain in force through Feb. 7.
The government will urge residents in the areas covered by the declaration to refrain from going out after 8 p.m. It is coordinating with local governments for them to pay up to 60,000 yen per day to restaurants that close by 8 p.m., as "cooperation money" for eating establishments that accept requests to shorten their operating hours.
The government's advisory committee on basic action policy held a meeting Thursday morning to discuss the contents of the emergency declaration and the draft revision to the government's basic action policy. The committee deemed that it was reasonable to issue the declaration.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economic revitalization minister who is also in charge of the government's COVID-19 countermeasures, said at the meeting: "We will not suspend a wide range of economic activities. Instead, we will implement effective measures for situations that have a high risk of infection, focusing on gatherings involving eating and drinking."
The prime minister was to declare a state of emergency at the government's task force early Thursday evening, after giving prior notice to the Diet.
A state of emergency is declared under the special measures law to cope with new strains of influenza. This is the second declaration, following the state of emergency that was in force from April 7 to May 25 last year. Last time, the Tokyo metropolitan government asked a wide range of facilities and businesses, including karaoke establishments and live music clubs, to suspend their operations. Some local governments asked elementary, junior high and high schools to close for that period.
To minimize the impact on the lives of the people and the economy, the government will not request a wide range of business suspensions and school closures this time around.
According to the draft of the bill to revise the basic action policy, the government is calling for residents to avoid nonessential outings, particularly after 8 p.m. Restaurants will be requested to shorten their business hours and close by 8 p.m. It is also stated that alcoholic drinks should not be served after 7 p.m.
The government is considering including commercial facilities that do not sell daily necessities among those required to shorten their business hours. It also plans to revise the ordinance so that it can reveal the names of restaurants and other businesses that refuse the request for shorter business hours.
The draft also calls on companies to promote telecommuting, with the aim of reducing by 70% the number of employees at offices. The government plans to limit the number of people allowed to participate in sports and other events to 50% or less of capacity, and a maximum of 5,000.
Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures are currently at the highest alert level, Stage 4, for the spread of infections. The government intends to lift the declaration after the level is lowered to Stage 3.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
