Japan News and Covid-19: Hyogo, Kyoto, and Osaka to join the State of Emergency
Sawako Utsumi and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
The Japanese government looks set to abide by the requests of the prefectures of Hyogo, Kyoto, and Osaka in joining the State of Emergency. This is based on the growing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in Japan.
Recently, Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama became covered by the State of Emergency. However, despite the limitations of the central government and the demands of local government authorities, other prefectures want to be equally covered.
Aichi and Gifu prefectures look set to make the same requests. Hence, gradually more of Japan is being covered because of the growing rise in new infections. Equally, the speed of deaths is increasing since the first 1,000 people died in Japan. Therefore, with deaths now amounting to over 4,000 – and with each new 1,000 deaths occurring faster – fear is gripping parts of the nation.
Of course, if you reside in areas covered by the State of Emergency and commute to work or visit busy department stores, the State of Emergency seems surreal. After all, much evolves around closing bars and restaurants at 8 pm and requesting people from non-essential trips after this time of the day. However, the new restrictions are much softer than the first State of Emergency declared last year.
Concerning the State of Emergency covering Tokyo and the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama. Modern Tokyo Times stipulated, “In reality, Prime Minister Suga didn’t want to cancel the tourist campaign. Also, like the Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Suga is focused on holding the postponed Olympic Games this year. Thus a muddled policy in Japan of encouraging tourism during a pandemic is followed by a late response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.”
It appears that the central government and many local governments wait for change based on pressure and following others. Equally, the economic angle is the prime focus and the lateness of action equates to many unneeded deaths and hospitalizations. Therefore, unlike the pro-active nature of the first State of Emergency last year under the administration of former Prime Minister Abe, everything appears muted under the leadership of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/ – Tokyo Metropolitan Government website for updates about the coronavirus crisis in Tokyo.
https://toyokeizai.net/sp/visual/tko/covid19/en.html – Japan and Tokyo Covid-19 news with more analysis
https://covid19japan.com/ – Japan regional coronavirus statistics
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ World coronavirus statistics
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