Japan Expands COVID-19 State of Emergency to 10 Areas Ahead of Olympics

Emergency Declared in Okinawa... Uncertainty Over Lifting State of Emergency in 9 Areas Including Tokyo by Month-End
Japanese Local Government Heads: "Life Is Most Important, Oppose the Olympics"

A pedestrian wearing a mask passes in front of the Olympic logo in Tokyo. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] With the Tokyo Olympics opening just 9 weeks away, the Japanese government has expanded the COVID-19 state of emergency.

According to local media such as NHK on the 21st, the Japanese government decided at the 'COVID-19 Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting' chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a COVID-19 state of emergency in Okinawa Prefecture from the 23rd of this month until the 20th of next month.

After issuing the third state of emergency on the 25th of last month in Tokyo and other areas, the Japanese government has expanded the target regions three times. As a result, the total number of affected areas has increased to 10, including Okinawa.

Initially, the state of emergency was declared in four regions: Tokyo, Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, and Hyogo Prefecture.

On the 12th of this month, Fukuoka Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture were added, and on the 16th, Hokkaido, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Okayama Prefecture were also included under the state of emergency.

Since last month, the Japanese government had applied the high-level "Priority Measures to Prevent Spread" in Okinawa as part of its quarantine measures. However, as the number of new daily confirmed cases in Okinawa reached 203 on the 19th of this month (according to NHK data), and the spread became very severe, the state of emergency was ultimately declared.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun on Japanese voters from the 15th to 16th, 83% responded that the Tokyo Olympics should be canceled or postponed again. In an earlier poll by Yomiuri Shimbun at the beginning of this month, 59% said the Tokyo Olympics should be canceled.

Opposition to holding the Olympics is also emerging among politicians. According to Yomiuri Shimbun on the 21st, Kiyoshi Ishikawa, mayor of Sakado City in Saitama Prefecture, stated at a regular press conference, "If the Olympics are held, Japan will be destroyed." The newspaper reported that he expressed opposition to the Olympics, saying, "I think protecting lives is the most important thing, so I am against the Olympics," regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is supporting the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics and has stated that "there will be no further postponement." Experts interpret the IOC's stance as a statement made out of concern that postponing the Olympics again would increase the financial burden and disrupt the schedule of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year.

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