Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide announced the implementation of the “Declaration of emergency” on the evening of 23 April for Tokyo, Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture and Hyogo Prefecture, Asahi Shimbun reported on the 24th. The Japanese government hopes to control the flow of people and prevent the spread of the epidemic by requiring restaurants and large-scale commercial facilities to close down. According to Japanese media, it remains to be seen whether the effect of lifting the “emergency declaration” can be achieved after 17 days.
Since the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Japan in 2020, the Japanese government issued the “emergency declaration” two times in April and January this year, and this is the third time that the declaration has been issued.
According to Japan’s daily news on the 24th, from the perspective of implementation objects, the impact of the “emergency declaration” released this time is smaller than that of the first time (the implementation objects of Japan’s first “emergency declaration” were expanded from Tokyo, Osaka Prefecture and other seven prefectures to the whole country); But from the perspective of restrictive measures, this time the requirements are more stringent than the second time. For example, when the Japanese government issued the “Declaration of emergency” for the second time, it only required restaurants to shorten their business hours, and the number of people participating in public activities should not exceed 5000. This time, in addition to shortening their business hours, it also required restaurants providing alcoholic drinks and karaoke services to close down and hold public activities in a non spectator mode.
Although the chairman of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, Seiko Hashimoto, said on the 23rd that Japan would not consider canceling the Tokyo Olympic Games even if there was an emergency, the Organizing Committee of the Tokyo Olympic Games and Paralympic Games announced that the track and field test race originally scheduled to be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan national arena on May 9 would be held in a non spectator manner. In addition, Japan’s announcement of an “emergency” during the golden week will help block the spread of the virus, but it will also lead to the suspension of commercial activities. Japan’s Daiwa Research Institute said in an analysis report released on the 22nd that the adoption of “emergency declaration” on Tokyo and other four prefectures will cause 600 billion yen of economic losses per month.
The Japanese media paid close attention to the issue that the Japanese government had to issue a “Declaration of emergency” for the third time to contain the epidemic, and criticized the government’s anti epidemic measures.
Japan’s “Yomiuri Shimbun” said in an editorial on the 24th that Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide had denied that “the fourth wave of epidemic” would spread across the country. Now the government’s response to the epidemic suddenly changed, which will only confuse the public Tokyo news criticizes that the second “emergency declaration” has been released for the third time in the context of less than a month since it was lifted. Is the previous judgment on lifting the “emergency declaration” appropriate? The government must review and reflect Japan economic news, on the other hand, doubts that the epidemic will be controlled only through the 17 day “emergency declaration”. Under the background of no obvious progress in vaccination, the public’s distrust and uneasiness about the epidemic prevention and control policies are growing. In order not to let “fatigue” become “give up”, the government should show a firm attitude to achieve those difficult goals.
Japan on Friday announced a third state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic with new restrictions taking effect Sunday. Here, a woman walks on a quiet Dotonbori Street. The arcade is normally one of Osaka’s most popular tourist areas.
