Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, "Considering 1-Month Extension of COVID-19 State of Emergency... Decision on April 4"

"Some Effect After State of Emergency Declaration... Medical Field Still in Severe Condition"

Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan (AP=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to consider extending the state of emergency declared nationwide to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to NHK, Prime Minister Abe met with reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in the afternoon and said, "I received a report on the meeting of the expert group advising on COVID-19 measures," adding, "I instructed Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization and COVID-19 response, to focus on reviewing a plan to extend the effectiveness of the state of emergency by about one month."

Prime Minister Abe stated, "Since the declaration of the state of emergency, thanks to the great cooperation of the public, we have begun to see certain effects such as avoiding explosive infection spread seen in other countries. However, experts' views indicate that the medical field is still in a severe situation," and added, "I will hold a press conference on the 4th to once again request the cooperation of the Japanese people."

Regarding this, Japanese media analyzed that the government has made clear its intention to extend the state of emergency, which is currently set to expire on the 6th, nationwide for about one month. Earlier, the expert group expressed at the meeting that although the number of infected people in Japan is on a declining trend, there is concern that the situation could worsen again if restrictions such as refraining from going out are eased, and it is desirable to maintain the state of emergency for about one month.

Prime Minister Abe declared the first state of emergency on April 7 for seven prefectures including Tokyo to respond to COVID-19, and then expanded it nationwide on April 16.

Meanwhile, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan has exceeded 15,000, and the number of deaths is approaching 500.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.