Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and adjacent areas on Thursday, trying to stop Covid-19 infections that have reached a daily record in the capital.
The statement will cover the capital and neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba and is likely to be imposed from Friday to February 7, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. It will be revoked when infections fall below government levels, he added.
Suga will hold a press conference at 6 pm to discuss the issue. Tokyo found more than 2,000 cases of coronavirus on Thursday, a report reported, the NHK broadcaster reported, citing an unidentified official.
Crowds at Ameya Yokocho Square in Tokyo, December 30, 2020.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Japan’s emergency does not involve the kind of blockages observed in some parts of Europe, and the government is looking for much less stringent measures than in the previous emergency last year, which triggered the worst economic contraction.
Residents will be asked to avoid leaving only after 8 p.m., and bars and restaurants will be instructed to close at that time. Authorities cannot impose compliance at this time, although Suga is trying to amend the law to add penalties for companies that do not comply with government measures and to formalize incentives for those who do.
Watch out: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga should declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and adjacent areas as coronavirus infections continue to hit records.
Yuki Masujima of Bloomberg Economics sees the emergency statement shaved up to 0.7% reduction in savings for each month it lasts. Tokyo and surrounding areas account for about a third of the country’s gross domestic product.
Balloon infections were a blow to Suga, who sought to restore growth despite the pandemic, including by providing domestic travel incentives to strengthen the tourism industry. His public support has waned, with polls showing a majority of voters favors more severe pandemic measures.
“This increases the possibility of an economic contraction,” said SMBC economist Yoshimasa Maruyama of Nikko Securities. “Suga wanted to wait until after the New Year’s holiday to make the statement, and that put him behind the curve to limit the spread of the virus.”
Even before Suga first suggested an emergency, it was anticipated that the economic recovery would slow in the first three months of 2021, with companies cutting back on investment and households choosing to save more.
Restrictions on activities are likely to hamper the effectiveness of the Suga economic stimulus package developed last month, which is to be funded from an additional budget. The package is no longer suitable in its current environment, Nomura Research Institute economist Takahide Kiuchi said in a research note.
“The government should change the content of the third additional budget and change the course of economic policy to strengthen support for companies and individuals,” Kiuchi said.
The decision to declare an emergency will be officially announced after a day of consultations with advisers and reports to parliamentary committees. A pandemic advisory committee approved the emergency proposal on Thursday, Nishimura said.
It will be the second in Japan after a statement that began in April, but is not expected to cause as much pain as the first, when the virus hit the brakes on the economy and sent it into the worst recession.
Photographer: Yoshikazu Tsuno / Gamma-Rapho / Bloomberg
The travel campaign signed by Suga “Go To”, which had already been suspended until January 11, is unlikely to be revived while the state of emergency is in place. The government will press for a return to remote work, aiming at reduced the number of commuters in the region by 70%, Nishimura said. However, schools will not be required to close, and university entrance exams will continue as scheduled.
Japan has had by far the lowest infections in any nation in the Group of Seven, with fewer cases in the past year than the United States has seen in recent days.
– With the assistance of Karen Leigh, Lily Nonomiya, Yoshiaki Nohara and Paul Jackson
(Updates with Tokyo infection numbers.)