Abe Says "No State of Emergency" Despite Japan's Highest Number of Confirmed Cases Updated

Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated on the 24th that despite the increasing number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), "I do not think it is a situation to announce a state of emergency."

According to major Japanese foreign media such as Kyodo News, Prime Minister Abe met with reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence that evening and said, "Certainly, the number of infected people is increasing, and we are watching with tension."

He said, "I repeatedly ask the public to thoroughly take preventive actions against infection, such as avoiding the '3 Cs' (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings) and refraining from shouting." The Japanese government maintains the position that despite the daily record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan, it is not yet a situation to re-declare a state of emergency, which mainly involves requests to refrain from going out and temporary business closures.

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan the previous day was 981, breaking the daily record of 795 set on the 22nd by a large margin. Looking at the new cases by region on that day, Tokyo reported 260 cases, which was more than 100 fewer than the previous day, but Osaka Prefecture set a daily record with 149 cases.

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