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Tokyo, Osaka, 16 Other Prefectures Extend COVID-19 Quasi-State of Emergency
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed on Thursday that the Japanese government will extend the quasi-state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, and 16 more of the 31 prefectures under the current anti-COVID-19 measures. These prefectures will remain under the quasi-state of emergency until March 21. The government cited the continuing strain on hospital occupancy in these prefectures as one of the reasons for the extension.
The prefectures extending the quasi-state of emergency are Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Hokkaido, Aomori, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Ishikawa, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Kagawa, and Kumamoto. In Fukushima, Nagano, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and nine other prefectures, the quasi-state of emergency will be lifted as planned on Sunday.
Kishida also announced that the daily cap of how many people can enter Japan will increase again from 5,000 to 7,000 on March 14. The prime minister noted that 160,000 people have already applied to enter the country this month.
Tokyo reported more than 12,500 new COVID-19 cases and 31 deaths, the second highest number for a single day this year, on Wednesday. Japan reported 72,000 new cases.
The Japanese government declared the current quasi-state of emergency in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Gunma, Kagawa, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Niigata, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki prefectures after their respective governors revealed their intentions to ask for one amid the rise of COVID-19. The national government granted the requests from these 13 prefectures from January 21 to February 13, and extended them to March 6.
The Japanese government also expanded the quasi-state of emergency to 18 more prefectures - including Osaka, Kyoto, and Hokkaido - amid the rise of COVID-19 infections in the country due to the new Omicron variant. Of these, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Aomori, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Ishikawa, Nagano, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Okayama, Fukuoka, Saga, Kagoshima, and Wakayama also extended their quasi-state of emergencies to March 6.
Prime Minister Kishida also announced last month that Japan would begin easing its COVID-19 entry restrictions for foreign students and business travelers (if they have sponsors) on March 1. In addition, it increased the number of people (Japanese and foreign nationals combined) who are allowed to enter from 3,500 to 5,000 daily, and shortened the COVID-19 quarantine period from seven to three days. Japan is still not allowing foreign tourists to enter until further notice.
Previous quasi-states of emergency, which have less strict guidelines compared to a full state of emergency, have asked dining and drinking establishments to stop selling alcohol, limit their hours, and limit the number of customers. They have also offered some financial compensation to businesses that comply with the guidelines, and they imposed additional anti-virus measures.
Japan last ended a full state of emergency in 19 prefectures last September. That state of emergency started in July (although Okinawa had then already been under a state of emergency for four months).
