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Japan Extends Quasi-State of Emergency to March 6 in 13 Prefectures
posted on by Alex Mateo
The Japanese government is planning to extend the current quasi-state of emergency for 13 prefectures to March 6 because case numbers remain high for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was originally scheduled to end on Sunday. Japan will also expand this quasi-state of emergency to Kochi Prefecture on Saturday. Kochi requested to be added because its medical system was under strain.
The government is consulting a panel of experts for the policy on Thursday before making a formal decision.
The Japanese government declared a quasi-state of emergency in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Gunma, Kagawa, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Niigata, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki prefectures after their respective governors revealed their intentions to ask for the quasi-state of emergency amid the rise of COVID-19. The national government granted the requests from these 13 prefectures from January 21 to February 13.
The Japanese government also expanded the quasi-state of emergency to eighteen more prefectures - including Osaka, Kyoto, and Hokkaido - amid the rise of COVID-19 infections in the country due to the new Omicron variant. The quasi-state of emergency is scheduled from January 27 to February 20. Japan declared a quasi-state of emergency in Okinawa, Yamaguchi, and Hiroshima prefectures earlier this year, which was scheduled for January 9-31.
Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi stated that intensive measures will help slow the wave of infections, reducing the strain on the medical system.
Japan reported 71,708 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. In Tokyo, the occupancy rate of hospital beds is above 20%, which is the threshold the Tokyo government views as needed to ask the national government to implement a quasi-state of emergency.
Relatedly, while the government still has a ban on new foreign entrants in place until the end of February, the country does plan to allow 87 foreign students to enter the country as a special case.
Previous quasi-states of emergency, which have less strict guidelines compared to a full state of emergency, have asked dining and drinking establishments to stop selling alcohol, limit their hours, and limit the number of customers. They have also offered some financial compensation to businesses that comply with the guidelines, and they imposed additional anti-virus measures.
Japan last ended a full state of emergency in 19 prefectures last September. That state of emergency started in July (although Okinawa had then already been under a state of emergency for four months).
