Japan Announces Fourth 'State of Emergency' in Tokyo... Including Olympic Period

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Japan will implement its fourth state of emergency for COVID-19 response starting from the 12th. This measure, announced 11 days before the Olympic opening ceremony, covers the entire Olympic period.

On the 8th, the Japanese government decided at a COVID-19 task force meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare a state of emergency in the Tokyo area for six weeks from the 12th to the 22nd of next month in response to the resurgence of infections.

This is the fourth time a COVID-19 state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo, following those in April last year, January this year, and April this year.

The state of emergency includes the entire Tokyo Olympics period, which will be held from the 23rd to the 8th of next month. All Tokyo Olympic events will take place under the state of emergency.

In regions where the state of emergency is declared, in addition to requests by metropolitan governors to refrain from going out, various quarantine measures such as shortened restaurant business hours, requests and orders for closures, and restrictions on alcohol sales will be implemented.

Furthermore, restrictions on holding large-scale events in the affected areas will apply either 50% of the venue capacity or a maximum of 5,000 people, whichever is smaller. In principle, a curfew until 9 p.m. will also be maintained.

The Japanese government made this decision as COVID-19 cases showed a sharp increase. The number of new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo reached 920 the previous day, exceeding 900 again for the first time in about eight weeks since May 13.

The Japanese government, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, and others plan to hold meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to reconsider spectator attendance. Previously, on the 21st of last month, they decided to allow domestic spectators up to 50% of venue capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 people per venue.

However, with the state of emergency in effect, there are also expectations that the events may be held without spectators.

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