Coronavirus: Japan’s Shinzo Abe set to call state of emergency

The Japanese Prime Minister will take the action as the cumulative number of infections tops 1000 in Tokyo alone.

Shinzo Abe enter the Diet’s upper house on Friday. Picture: AP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would declare a state of emergency as early as Tuesday in a bid to stop the coronavirus spreading across the country, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.

The cumulative number of infections has topped 1000 in Tokyo alone. Mr Abe would likely announce his plans to declare the emergency on Monday, the paper said, while Kyodo news agency said new measures would likely come into force on Wednesday.

Pressure had been mounting on the government to make the move as the pace of infections continues to accelerate — particularly in the capital — even though it remains slow for now compared with the US, countries in Europe and China, where thousands have died.

Under a law revised last month to cover the coronavirus, the Prime Minister can declare a state of emergency if the disease poses a “grave danger” to lives and if its rapid spread could have a huge impact on the economy.

Japan’s top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said on Monday that a decision had yet to be made.

People wearing face masks walk in Shinagawa station in Tokyo. Picture: AFP

Declaring an emergency would give governors in severely affected regions legal authority to call on people to stay home and businesses to close, but not to impose the kind of lockdowns seen in other countries. In most cases, there are no penalties for ignoring requests, and enforcement will rely more on peer pressure and respect for authority.

More than 3500 people have tested positive and 85 have died in Japan from the COVID-19 disease associated with the new coronavirus, according to public broadcaster NHK.

While that toll is dwarfed by 331,000 infections and more than 9400 deaths in the US alone, experts worry a sudden surge could strain Japan’s medical system and leave patients with nowhere to go.

Mr Abe must seek formal advice from a panel of experts before deciding to go ahead and declare a state of emergency.

One medical professional on the panel has said a decision to do so was “complex”, involving political, economic and other factors.

The government’s coronavirus taskforce — a separate entity from the panel of experts — is scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday night.

Restricting movement and businesses under a state of emergency would deal a heavy blow to an economy already struggling to avoid a recession. The government is readying a stimulus package of hundreds of billions of dollars to be rolled out this week.

Reuters