Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and adjacent areas on Thursday, trying to curb Covid-19 infections that reach a daily record in the capital.
The statement will cover the capital and surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, and is likely to take effect from Friday to February 7, said Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura. It will be revoked when infections fall below government-set levels, he added.
Suga is scheduled to hold a press conference at 6 p.m. to discuss the issue. Tokyo found more than 2,000 cases of coronavirus on Thursday, NHK reported, citing an unidentified official.
Crowd at the Ameya Yokocho Market in Tokyo on December 30, 2020.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Japan’s emergency does not imply the kind of blockade seen in some parts of Europe and the government is looking for much less stringent measures than in its previous emergency last year, which caused the worst economic contraction on record.
Residents will be asked to avoid leaving only after 8pm and instructions will be given to bars and restaurants that close at this time. Authorities cannot enforce compliance for now, although Suga wants to amend the law to add sanctions to companies that do not comply with government measures and formalize incentives for those who do.
Watch out: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and adjacent areas as coronavirus infections continue to reach all-time highs.
Yuki Masujima of Bloomberg Economics sees the declaration of emergency shaving Until A 0.7% discount on the economy for each month it lasts. Tokyo and neighboring areas account for about a third of the country’s gross domestic product.
Balloon infections have been a severe blow to Suga, which had tried to restore growth despite the pandemic, including offering incentives for domestic travel to bolster the tourism industry. Their public support has fallen, with polls showing a majority of voters favor tougher pandemic measures.
“This increases the possibility of an economic contraction,” economist Yoshimasa Maruyama told SMBC Nikko Securities about the emergency. “Suga wanted to wait until after the New Year holidays to make the statement and that has put him behind the curve to limit the spread of the virus.”
Even before Suga hinted that it would declare an emergency, the economic recovery was expected to slow during the first three months of 2021, as companies cut back on investment and households opted to save more.
Restrictions on activities are likely to hamper the effectiveness of the Suga economic stimulus package drawn up last month, which will be funded with an extra budget. The package is no longer appropriate in the current environment, Nomura Research Institute economist Takahide Kiuchi said in a research note.
“The government should change the content of the third extra budget and change the course of economic policy in order to strengthen support for businesses and individuals,” Kiuchi said.
The decision to declare an emergency will be formally announced after a day of consultations with advisers and reports to parliamentary committees. A pandemic advisory group on Thursday approved the emergency proposal, 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 slowed the economy and made it suffer the worst recession.
Photographer: Yoshikazu Tsuno / Gamma-Rapho / Bloomberg
Suga’s “Go To” travel campaign, which had already been suspended until Jan. 11, is unlikely to recover as long as the state of emergency is maintained. The government will push for remote work, with the aim of reduced the number of travelers to the region by 70 percent, Nishimura said. However, schools will not be asked to close and university entrance exams will continue as planned.
Japan has had, by far, the lowest infections of any Group of Seven nation, with fewer cases in the last year than the United States in recent days.
– With the assistance of Karen Leigh, Lily Nonomiya, Yoshiaki Nohara and Paul Jackson
(Updates with Tokyo infection numbers.)