TOKYO — Japan’s state of emergency has been expanded to the whole country from seven prefectures, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday, as the novel coronavirus crisis deepens.
Everyone in Japan needs to reduce their social contacts by 80 percent in order to stem new infections, Abe urged, as the number of cases climbed to nearly 10,000, including 712 on a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo in February.
About 180 people have died of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus.
The government “needs to take measures to keep the flow of people to minimum” before this year’s Golden Week holidays that start in late April, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the country’s economic minister, told a government meeting.
Abe’s government has been criticized for hiding the true number of coronavirus cases by limiting tests.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare had focused on clusters of coronavirus cases instead of testing as many people as possible.
Thursday’s move comes more than one week after the premier declared the month-long emergency for seven prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, until May 6, when the weeklong holiday ends.
The previous declaration affected about 56 million people, or 44.6 per cent of Japan’s total population of nearly 126 million. However, it did not cover major cities such as Nagoya and Kyoto.
Then, five prefectures, including Kyoto and Aichi, whose capital is Nagoya, declared a state of emergency on their own as they had seen an increasing number of new virus cases.
The declaration requests — not orders — residents to stay at home, meaning there will be no punishment for those who do not comply with the measures aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus.
So, even after the declaration, many people still went to work in major cities in the seven prefectures.
The government and local leaders urged people to work from home, but many Japanese companies still do not allow telework.
On Thursday, Abe also said the government will provide cash handouts of 100,000 yen (925 dollars) to all citizens.
