A customer uses a hand cleaning station in Ameya Yokocho Market in Tokyo’s Ueno Ward on Dec. 30.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Japan’s second state of emergency will last a month, but public health experts have already expressed doubts that four weeks is enough time to sufficiently slow down the coronavirus that is spreading at an alarming rate.
With residents increasingly facing virus fatigue and no legal framework to enforce compliance, the country could struggle to bring down the trend of infections quickly, experts say. Japan reported new daily contamination records for at least two days in the past week, accelerating in the capital Tokyo. On Friday, Tokyo reported 2,392 confirmed cases, the second-highest to date after Thursday’s record.
“I’m not sure the situation can get better in a month,” Hitoshi Oshitani, a virology professor at Tohoku University and a member of the government’s advisory panel of experts, told Bloomberg News. “It is certainly much more difficult to control the current situation compared to the summer outbreak.”
People dine at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Ameya Yokocho Market on December 30.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
Japan has enacted a more limited emergency this time, mainly aimed at shortening restaurant opening times and encouraging remote working. Cinemas, gyms, karaoke salons and theme parks, all of which were closed during last spring’s emergency, are expected to remain open with limited hours, while major events are still allowed with reduced capacity.
While the measures only apply to the capital Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures for now, Osaka regional authorities will also ask the government to extend the emergency to what is the country’s second largest metropolitan area. Osaka’s neighboring prefectures will follow suit, limiting activity in a larger portion of the country’s economy.
Regions under emergency will need to get out of Phase 4, the highest government designation for the pandemic, to lift the status. The stages look at factors such as medical capacity, number of patients, test positivity rate and the weekly increase in new infections. Experts will constantly examine the data to determine which areas meet which stages, they said.
Emergency landing
The number of cases has skyrocketed in the four areas under Japan’s second state of emergency
Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government; Prefecture Governments of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama
Read more: What does the second state of emergency in Tokyo mean?
Shigeru Omi, the head of the government’s panel of experts who said early this week that it would be “nearly impossible” for Japan to emerge from the emergency within a month, changed his tone when he joined Prime Minister Yoshihide to press inquired. Suga Thursday.
“It’s not very easy,” said Omi, “but I believe it’s possible to get the infections back to Stage 3 within a month if everyone is doing their best.” Omi said people should follow the suggested measures to stay at home and avoid eating and drinking in the evening, but keeping the younger people away from such locations, where the virus spread during the pandemic, has been a daunting task.
Upcoming legislative changes, including the ability to fine companies that refuse closure Formalizing requests and payments for collaboration would also be necessary, he added. The government will try to change the related legislation when the Reichstag resumes on January 18.
Yoshihide Suga on January 7.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg
Japan’s state of emergency declared last spring began with a declaration to seven prefectures. That was later expanded nationally, and its duration extended, before being phased out at the end of May.
Japan, which had received early praise for its ability to contain the virus without strict lockdowns, saw that its strategy of “living with the virus” emerged by winter. The number of cases increased nationally in November and has increased sharply over the past week, especially in the regions near Tokyo.
Earlier in April, stores closed in Tokyo’s Akihabara shopping district.
Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama / Bloomberg
Tokyo failure
The country has made efforts to cooperate publicly in the same way as in the spring. Officials were concerned that concerns about the virus were abating, while many bars and restaurants, which have already been pushed to their limits in the past year, may be reluctant to cooperate with requests to close.
The dire situation in Tokyo is likely due to the fact that tougher measures were not taken earlier in December, Oshitani said. Areas like Osaka and Hokkaido asked restaurants to close as early as 9pm, or close altogether, as the month is peak drinking and eating season, with social groups and workplaces hosting traditional end-of-year celebrations.
“Tokyo was unable to take aggressive action in December – that’s probably why we’re seeing the upward trend, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area,” Oshitani said. “It was important to take more aggressive measures in December because of the festive season.”
Read more: The scientist who saved Japan once fights a new virus act
Although the Tokyo authorities people asked to avoid these celebrations, the effect was limited. Data from the virus working group showed that while the number of visitors to entertainment areas in Osaka and Hokkaido dropped sharply after requests to close, traffic in Tokyo actually increased.
Oshitani said he hoped that since January and February are often quiet social periods in Japan, people will heed calls to stay at home and slow the spread of the virus.
“I believe we are still managing to get the situation under control,” he said. “It depends entirely on people’s behavioral change.”
– With the help of Gearoid Reidy
(Updates with Tokyo case numbers and Osaka emergency request.)