Tokyo seeks state of emergency to fight surge in coronavirus infections

[TOKYO] Tokyo has decided to ask the Japanese government to declare a state of emergency, Mainichi newspaper reported, as authorities step up restrictions to contain a surge in coronavirus infections ahead of an Olympics just three months away.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has told ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai she plans to seek the designation for the capital, the report said, without saying where it obtained the information.

The city will make the final decision after a virus panel meeting on Thursday, it said. Covid-19 cases in the city have in recent days surged to levels not seen since late January, when the capital was under its second state of emergency.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government stepped up restrictions this month in Tokyo, Osaka and other regions to slow the spread, imposing measures that call on bars and restaurants to close by 8 pm, and those that fail to comply face fines.

Tokyo may be looking to ratchet up restrictions even more by asking restaurants to close if a state of emergency is declared, TV network TBS reported, without saying where it obtained the information.

This would be the strictest measure under an emergency so far in Japan, but such a move could raise the risk of a double dip recession and deal a heavy blow to thousands of eateries struggling to survive.

Civil liberties enshrined in the Japanese Constitution prevent imposing a lockdown backed by police action, as has been seen in other nations.

Tokyo's single-day virus cases jumped by 70 per cent in just two weeks to 759 on Saturday, a sign the capital is following Osaka, the second largest metropolitan area where daily cases have hit record highs this month.

There is no law that prohibits the Olympics from taking place under an emergency, but it will likely impact the number of domestic spectators allowed, a decision that's expected this month. Overseas fans are already banned from the event.

The surge in cases has further soured Japanese public support for the Olympics, which would be one the biggest global events of the pandemic era, with more than 70 per cent surveyed by broadcaster ANN over the weekend saying they were against holding the Games in July.

Japan's vaccine rollout will be far from complete before the Olympics, which will draw more than 60,000 athletes, coaches, national team staff, media and other essential workers from more than 200 countries. Immunisations of people aged over 65, which began this month, might not be finished until next year due to insufficient cooperation from medical personnel in some regions, the Nikkei newspaper cited ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hakubun Shimomura as saying Monday.

Despite the rising numbers in Japan, the country has by far the fewest recorded Covid-19 cases of any Group of Seven country. Its death tally has also been among the lowest in the group at about 9,650, well below the some 128,000 in the UK, which has a population about the half the size of Japan's.

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