A recent increase in COVID-19 cases could see major parts of Japan slipping back into a state of emergency, with authorities in Tokyo and Osaka looking at renewed borders to stop the spread.
The new wave of infections complicates preparations for the Tokyo Olympics, which are set to begin in July, and have already been postponed due to last year’s global coronavirus outbreak.
This month, Japan placed Osaka, Tokyo and eight other prefectures under “quasi-states of emergency” to control the spread of COVID-19 with shorter working hours for restaurants and bars and stronger calls for telecommuting.
But these measures have not done much to reverse the trend so far, with Osaka reporting a record 1,220 cases on Sunday, two weeks after those restrictions came into force as a mutant strain fueled the spread.
“The fruits of these measures should appear now,” Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters in comments online.
“Medical services are also in a serious condition and we have decided that we need a state of emergency. We need stronger measures, such as those that would stop the movement of people,” he said. Japan’s third most populous prefecture would make its official request to the government on Tuesday.
In a TV Asahi poll published on Monday, just over half of respondents said they considered the “quasi-emergency” restrictions to be ineffective.
Tokyo is also considering a state of emergency request, Gov. Yuriko Koike told reporters late Sunday in a step back as Japan struggles to bring the pandemic under control before the Summer Olympics.
“Preventive action is crucial right now,” Koike said. Tokyo reported 543 new cases on Sunday, the 18th day in a row with seven-day increases.
Asked about possible requests from Osaka and Tokyo, the chief secretary of the cabinet, Katsunobu Kato, the government spokesman, said that any such calls should be considered “fast”.
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