Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to declare a state of emergency within days, after coronavirus cases in Tokyo jumped over the weekend to top 1,000 for the first time and raised worries of a more explosive surge, media reports said.
Abe will announce the plan as soon as Monday, with the formal declaration for the Tokyo area coming as early as Tuesday, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, without attribution. Osaka is also likely to be included, while Hyogo, Saitama and Hokkaido prefectures are under consideration, according to Kyodo News and other media reports. Japan’s biggest-ever stimulus package worth 60 trillion yen ($550 billion) may also be announced Tuesday.
Abe is expected to call a meeting of his advisory panel on the virus before announcing the decision. The state of emergency will be issued for specific areas and a time period will be set.
Abe’s government saw its approval rating slip to its lowest since October 2018 in a poll from broadcaster JNN released Monday with a majority of respondents faulting the way the government has managed the virus crisis. The poll taken April 4-5 showed that about 80% of respondents said the declaration should be made.
While Abe’s government has said the country is on the brink of an explosive surge, it has resisted calls to declare an emergency. The governors of Tokyo and Osaka have been pushing for the declaration as the recent spike in cases sparked concerns Japan is headed for a crisis on the levels seen in the U.S. and several countries in Europe.
Declaring a state of emergency hands powers to local governments, including to urge residents to stay at home. By contrast with some other countries though, there is no legal power to enforce such requests due to civil liberties protections in Japanese law.
While Japan was one of the first countries outside of the original epicenter in neighboring China to confirm a coronavirus infection, it has fared better than most, with about 3,150 reported cases as of Monday — a jump from less than 500 just a month ago. That’s the lowest tally of any Group of Seven country, although Japan might be finding fewer mild cases because it has conducted a relatively small number of tests.
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Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo advised American citizens to return home, saying Japan’s low testing rate makes it hard to accurately assess the prevalence of the virus. The Japan Medical Association warned last week that the jump in cases in the nation’s most populous cities is putting more pressure on medical resources and that the government should declare a state of emergency.
Tokyo reported 143 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, its largest single day. It marked the second straight day the city’s daily infection tally exceeded 100.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is already pressing residents to avoid unnecessary outings, and television showed many of the capital’s main shopping areas almost deserted over the weekend. The Tokyo local government is set to begin leasing hotels this week to accommodate mild cases, to make room in its hospitals for the seriously ill.
Abe told parliament Friday that the situation didn’t yet warrant an emergency declaration, but said he wouldn’t hesitate to take the step if the time comes.-Bloomberg
Also read: Japan is counting on its obedient citizens to lock themselves down
STATE OF EMERGENCY SET TO BE DECLARED IN SOME PERFECTURES OF JAPAN ON 7 APRIL , 2020.
According to news reports on 6 April , 2020 , a state of emergency is set to be declared on 7 April 2020 , in some prefectures or locations in specified provinces of Japan following grim shaping up of Coronavirus there. Tokyo , Kamagawa , Chiba , Saitama , Osaka , Hyogo and Fukuoka are being mentioned in that regard. In this context , it may be apt to refer readers to the following predictive alerts of this Vedic astrology writer in article – “ Vedic astrology highlights for Japan in coming year 2020” – brought to public domain widely on 23 rd October 2019 :-
“A period of three months from April to June in 2020, looks to be giving rise to some worrisome concerns. Such concerns look to be relating to sea and sea-products like whale, fish, precious substances found in the sea. Oil, gas, diesel, chemicals, hydro-power or nuclear energy or industries connected with one or more of the these can cause concern. Cooperation or support of the countries considered friendly may have to wait for some time. War expenses or connected issues like borders may engage attention. Expenses may be more than revenue or revenue may be slow to arrive. Massive storms or cyclones could cause worry. Such like places or regions in Japan as Sapporo, Hakodate, Kitakyushu, Kobe may take more care and appropriate strategy during April to June, particularly May – June 2020. SOME SUBSTANCES OR INDUSTRIES HAVING REPUGNANT OR REPULSIVE SMELL MAY CALL FOR MORE CARE AND APPROPRIATE STRATEGY DURING TWENTY DAYS FROM 20 MARCH TO 10 APRIL 2020”.
It seems that the predictive alert of this writer on 23 October , 2019 for more care and appropriate strategy , particularly during three months from April to June in 2020 was meaningful and to the point.
Note :- This writer had similarly alerted , much prior in 2019 , countries like India , Singapore , Italy , Canada , US , and Ireland. Some links are being given here ;
1. The United States of America , wisdom-magazine.com/Article.aspx/5176/ having predictive alerts of 11 November , 2019.
2. Italy , http://www.astralis.it/Kumar02.htm having predictive alerts of 15 December , 2019.
3. India , theindiapost.com/articles/predictions-for-coming-year-2020-by-kushal-kumar/ having predictive alerts of 10 October , 2019.
4. Singapore , article – “Some glimpses of coming year 2020 for Singapore ” – brought to public domain widely on 3rd November 2019.