Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and neighboring areas on Thursday in an effort to stop Covid-19 infections hitting a daily record in the capital.
The statement covers the capital and surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, and is likely to be imposed from Friday to Feb. 7, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. It will be withdrawn when infections fall below government-set levels, he added.
Suga will hold a press conference at 6pm to discuss the matter. Tokyo found more than 2,000 cases of coronavirus on Thursday, broadcaster NHK reported, citing an unknown official.
Crowds at Ameya Yokocho Market in Tokyo, December 30, 2020.
Photographer: Noriko Hayashi / Bloomberg
The emergency in Japan does not imply the kind of lockdowns seen in some parts of Europe, and the government is aiming for much less stringent measures than during the previous emergency last year, which led to the worst economic contraction ever.
Residents will be asked not to go out until after 8pm and bars and restaurants will be instructed to close at that time. Authorities can’t enforce compliance for now, though Suga is trying to change the law to add fines to companies that fail to comply with government measures, and to formalize incentives for those who do.
Watch: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and neighboring areas as coronavirus infections continue to hit record highs.
Bloomberg Economics’ Yuki Masujima sees the emergency declaration coming up until 0.7% discount on the economy for every month it lasts. Tokyo and neighboring areas account for about a third of the country’s gross domestic product.
Hot air balloons were a blow to Suga, who had tried to restore growth despite the pandemic, including by offering domestic travel incentives to support the tourism industry. His public support has fallen, with polls showing most voters in favor of tougher pandemic measures.
“This increases the likelihood of an economic contraction,” SMBC Nikko Securities economist Yoshimasa Maruyama said of the emergency. “Suga wanted to wait until after the New Year holidays to file the report and that has put him behind the curve to limit the spread of the virus.”
Even before Suga first hinted that he would declare an emergency, the economic recovery was predicted to slow in the first three months of 2021, with companies scaling back their investments and households choosing to save more.
The restrictions on activities are likely to hamper the effectiveness of the economic stimulus package Suga put together last month, which will be funded with an additional budget. The package is no longer suitable in the current environment, economist Takahide Kiuchi of the Nomura Research Institute said in a research note.
“The government should change the content of the third additional budget and change the course of economic policy to bolster support for businesses and individuals,” said Kiuchi.
The decision to declare an emergency is formally announced after a day of consultation with advisers and reports to parliamentary committees. An advisory panel on the pandemic approved the emergency proposal on Thursday, 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 put it into its worst downturn.
Photographer: Yoshikazu Tsuno / Gamma-Rapho / Bloomberg
Suga’s signature “Go To” travel campaign, which was already suspended until January 11, is unlikely to be revived while the state of emergency is in place. The government will push for a return to remote working, aim for reduced the number of commuters in the region by 70%, Nishimura said. However, schools are not requested to close and university entrance exams continue as planned.
Japan has had by far the lowest infections of any of the Group of Seven countries, registering fewer cases in the past year than the US has seen in recent days.
– With the help of Karen Leigh, Lily Nonomiya, Yoshiaki Nohara and Paul Jackson
(Updates with Tokyo infection rates.)