Japan's govt: No reason to extend state of emergency to other regions

The Japanese government on April 13 said that there wasn’t any reason for it to extend the state of emergency beyond Tokyo and a few other cities in the country. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, on April 7 had declared a month-long state of emergency in the capital and six other prefectures in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, there were no penalties announced on people who defied the rules.

Read: Japan PM Proposes State Of Emergency Over Virus, USD 1-trillion Stimulus

"So far we have not been informed of any expert evidence suggesting that the state of emergency should be extended to Hokkaido or other regions", chief government spokesman Yoshinde Suga said at a press briefing.

Japan, where the first case was reported in January, has now reported over 7,730 cases of the COVID-19 infection. Over 123 people have died and 784 people have recovered from the infection across the country.

Japan’s state of emergency

According to reports, the state of emergency, which is until May 6, will only permit Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and heads of the six other prefectures to do more to reinforce calls for social distancing. This comes as Abe, since days, has been under pressure to declare a state of emergency to get better compliance with calls for social distancing amid a rising number of cases without any known contact with other patients.

Read: SoftBank To Supply 300 Mn Masks To Japan Every Month To Help Contain COVID-19

The state of emergency includes a stay-at-home request, guidance to schools on temporary closures and requests to close nonessential businesses and stores and to cancel or postpone events and exhibits. According to reports, violators cannot be penalized unless they fail to comply with orders on providing or storing emergency relief goods, such as surgical masks and medical equipment. Still, the state of emergency could significantly limit the movement of people around and out of the cities across Japan.

Read: Japan Declares State Of Emergency, Ramping Up Virus Battle

(Image credits: AP)

Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Japan Reports 378 New Cases And 3 Deaths Within 24 Hours