The prime minister is slated to designate authorities in the seven prefectures subject to emergency measures. The declaration also will cover Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures, Abe said in a briefing at the Prime Minister's Office.

He also said the government will offer more than ¥6 trillion in direct cash payments as part of an economic package.

The emergency declaration comes after Abe and top government officials resisted opting for the drastic measure, reasoning that the country was not yet at a critical point amid the global pandemic.

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The number of people newly infected with COVID-19 in Japan rose by 205 as of late Monday to total 4,041, excluding those who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama through February, according to Kyodo News. The death toll rose by four to 108.

Tokyo, the center of the coronavirus outbreak in Japan, reported 83 new cases Monday. The increase was lower than the previous two days — 117 on Saturday and 143 on Sunday. Sunday was the highest single-day total yet.

Mondays have typically seen a decrease in the number of cases, a trend that was believed to be the result of a smaller number of tests being conducted over the weekend.

The Tokyo Medical Association also declared a state of medical emergency on Monday, alarmed by the possible collapse of the health care system under the strain of an overwhelming number of patients in the nation’s capital.

Last month, the Diet approved provisions for the new coronavirus to be covered under special measures legislation passed in 2012, aimed at battling threats such as a novel influenza virus that had caused a pandemic in 2009.

But over the last few days, calls for Abe to trigger the emergency action — including from Dr. Yoshitake Yokokura, head of the Japanese Medical Association — have become more vocal as the number of COVID-19 patients has continued to soar, particularly in urban areas.

Declaring of a state of emergency won't lead to a lockdown like those seen in some American and European cities.

Following the declaration, prefectural governors in the designated areas would be authorized to “request” residents stay at home except for essential tasks, such as grocery shopping. As for businesses, the prefectural governments would also be able to request that they “thoroughly implement infection control measures.”

Governors would additionally be able to ask schools, child care facilities, movie theaters and other public facilities temporarily close.

The Japanese term typically translated as “request” is understood to be taken as “demand” with a strong expectation that those asked will obey the directives, but there are no legal penalties if they are not followed.

In the event of a surge in patients, prefectural governors would also be able to requisition land to build temporary medical facilities, and could do so forcefully if a landowner refuses.

Similarly, prefectural governments would also be able to order medicine and food suppliers to sell their goods to authorities. If suppliers refuse, prefectural governments would be able to forcibly procure those goods from them.

The central government, as well as prefectural and municipal authorities, have already designated an array of industries such as basic utilities, transportation and distribution firms and the public broadcaster NHK as “designated public institutions.” Once an emergency declaration goes into effect, they can be required to disseminate information and necessities.

The economic blow is believed to be unavoidable. An estimate by the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. showed if Tokyo were to go on a monthlong lockdown, demand in the nation’s capital would drop by 40 percent. That would dip the nation’s gross domestic product by 0.7 percent as a rippling effect. Abe warned the nation last month that the country would face “a long battle” against COVID-19.

Like Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has been calling for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency, at least for Tokyo and Osaka, in order to better utilize resources. With over 400 cases reported as of Monday morning, the second highest in the nation behind Tokyo, Osaka prefecture and the Kansai region are preparing for a national emergency to be declared.

Osaka officials said Monday morning the prefecture had not yet experienced an “overshoot”, or an explosive increase in the number of cases within a few days that threatens to exceed health care capacity. Osaka and neighboring Kyoto, Hyogo, and Nara prefectures, which are all within one hour by train of the central city of Osaka, logged over 760 new infections in total on Monday.

Concerns about a lack of beds in the event of an overshoot led Osaka prefecture to issue a call for local hotels to provide rooms. Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani has responded and will offer a company-owned hotel, the Park Front Hotel beside Universal Studios Japan, for COVID-19 patients if needed. The hotel has about 600 rooms. It would be used for those who have tested positive and either show no symptoms or are only slightly ill.

In addition, Osaka prefecture is discussing financial aid to bars, restaurants, nightclubs and karaoke establishments that agree to be publicly identified if found to be the focus of infection clusters.

 

The Tokyo government is hoping to request that a wide range of commercial facilities close based on a special measures law. But the central government fears that such a request will fuel anxiety among residents and spark panic buying.

But efforts in the capital, where an explosive rise in cases is feared, have had a shaky start.

“Barber shops, beauty salons and DIY stores are vital in maintaining daily lives,” economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said during a videoconference Wednesday with the governors of the affected areas.

 

 The importance of such stores is stated in the central government’s guidelines on coronavirus countermeasures, he added, requesting that the governors draw on the guidelines.

Nishimura made the remarks with the moves of the metropolitan government in mind.

On Monday, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike explained to metropolitan assembly representatives the planned scope of facilities that would be requested to close after the central government’s emergency declaration.

She caused a stir in some quarters as the list included a wide range of sectors, including department stores, hardware stores, barbers and izakaya dining bars.

Koike had planned to issue the closure request immediately after the emergency declaration. But she had to move back the announcement because the central government interfered.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is now arranging to allow barbers and do-it-yourself stores to operate as usual, a source familiar with the plan said Thursday.

Department stores, outdoor sports facilities, and izakaya pubs, will also likely be excluded. Izakaya, however, will only be allowed to open until around 8 p.m., according to the source.

Koike plans to announce the final version of the plan on Friday so that it can take effect from Saturday.

The Tokyo government has become frustrated with the central government over its moves. Koike was stone-faced throughout the call with Nishimura.

The central government, for its part, has become distrustful of Koike, believing that her repeated warnings of a Tokyo lockdown in late March caused panic buying.

A senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office said that the metropolitan government’s closure request “could give rise to an issue of compensation.”

Roughly 56 million people, or about 45 percent of the country’s population, in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka are subject to the emergency declaration, which calls for people to refrain from nonessential outings and some businesses to shut. There are no legal penalties for noncompliance.

“The government requests for business closures and compensation are two sides of the same coin,” Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura told his peers during Wednesday’s meeting.

Koike echoed his view, saying the governors “must work together to strongly urge the state” to pay compensation. “Unlike natural disasters, (the virus) is an enemy we cannot see, but I’d like to regain our peaceful lives as soon as possible by tackling it together,” Koike told the governors.

Regarding measures that should be taken during the emergency, the central government’s guidelines, amended Tuesday, stipulate that governments of the prefectures subject to the declaration first ask residents to stay home.

The local governments will then check the effects of the stay-at-home request. After consulting with the central government, the local entities will issue requests or instructions to restrict the use of facilities, according to the guidelines.

All seven prefectures subject to Tuesday’s declaration except Tokyo are following the guidelines. They do not intend to ask facilities to be shut down at least for the time being.

The Tokyo government will speed up its talks with the central government, hoping to announce a business closure request soon and implement it on Saturday.

At a news conference Wednesday, Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the major opposition Democratic Party for the People, said that he has been “appalled” by the lack of coordination between the central and Tokyo governments.

He added that the effectiveness of the emergency declaration will not increase unless the two sides work together.

 

Areas around Shinjuku Station in Tokyo that are normally packed with shoppers appeared semi-deserted with department stores and restaurants closed for business.

The lack of people in one of the Japanese capital’s major transport hubs was further demonstrated by a timetable screen at the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal that showed the majority of scheduled buses had vacant seats.

Atsushi Ushijima, a 52-year-old from Ishikawa Prefecture who manages a rental car-related business, said that the declaration has prompted many people to leave urban areas, meaning more rental cars than normal are being dropped off in regional areas.