Japan to Declare State of Emergency of Up To 6 Months

By Staff, Agencies

Japan will declare a state of emergency as early as Tuesday in a bid to stop the coronavirus, media reported.

The Japanese government is currently preparing a stimulus package to soften the blow on an economy already struggling to avoid a recession.

More than 3,500 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Japan, 85 of them have died. It is not a huge outbreak compared with some hot spots, but the numbers keep rising with particular alarm over the spread in Tokyo, which has more than 1,000 cases.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was likely to announce his plan for the emergency later Monday, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, while Kyodo news agency said new measures would likely come into force Wednesday.

An emergency would give governors authority to call on people to stay at home and businesses to close, but not to order 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.

Pressure had been mounting on the government to take the step although Abe has voiced concern about being too hasty, given the restrictions on movement and businesses that would ensue.

The stimulus package of hundreds of billions of dollars is due to be rolled out this week.

An emergency would appear to have public support. In a poll published on Monday by JNN, run by broadcaster TBS, 80% of those surveyed said Abe should declare it while 12% said it was not necessary. His approval rating fell by 5.7 points from last month to 43.2%, the survey showed.