Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa to step up COVID-19 measures
Quasi-state of emergency will come into effect on Monday
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese government on Friday is set to designate Tokyo and two other prefectures as requiring stronger measures to fight COVID-19 amid a resurgence in infections, less than three weeks after lifting a state of emergency.
The measures, expected to include bringing forward the closing time for restaurants and bars by one hour to 8 p.m. in densely populated areas, will come into effect on Monday and last through May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures, and May 11 for Tokyo, government officials said.
Tokyo, which will stage the Olympics in less than four months, has reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases for two days in a row, its worst streak since early February.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will finalize the decision at a COVID-19 task force meeting in the evening.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike had requested the government to grant her the authority to take tougher measures under a quasi-state of emergency, expressing concern that highly contagious variants of the virus could spread during the Golden Week holidays from late April through early May, one of the busiest periods for travel.
Infections have been creeping up in Tokyo since the state of emergency ended on March 21. The capital saw 555 new cases on Wednesday, the most since early February during the tail end of the third wave of infections, and reported 545 on Thursday.
The quasi-state of emergency, which carries a smaller fine for businesses that ignore orders to shorten operating hours, is already in effect in Osaka Prefecture and neighboring Hyogo as well as Miyagi in Japan's northeast, set to run through May 5.
Koike had voiced concern that the capital could go the way of Osaka, which was quicker to ease restrictions and has since seen infections soar to record highs, with 905 confirmed Thursday.
The government introduced the quasi-state of emergency through a legal revision in February as a way to take targeted steps to bring down infections while keeping the economy going as much as possible. Governors can now designate cities and towns for stricter measures, unlike a full-fledged emergency, which covers entire prefectures.
Government officials said Tokyo's 23 central wards and six other areas of the capital, including Hachioji and Tachikawa, as well as the city of Kyoto will be subject to the tougher restrictions. Candidates in Okinawa include Naha.