L-R: Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and Finance Minister, Taro Aso, during Wednesday's meeting to discuss the early lift of the state of emergency in 6 prefectures. (Image via Japan Today)

Suga discusses early lift of state of emergency for 6 prefectures

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, met with his cabinet members to talk about the early lift of the state of emergency over novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which will end on 7 March. As some prefectures have seen improvements, they wanted the central government to lift the state of emergency earlier.

Coming to the evening meeting after a hearing session with the Health Ministry panel, Suga talked with the Health Minister Norihisa Tamura, and Economic Revitalization Minister and also in charge of COVID-19 response, Yasutoshi Nishimura. From the 10 prefectures in the state of emergency, Tokyo and its three vicinities, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, will remain as their conditions have not shown any improvement.

On the other hand, Aichi, Gifu, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka might get off of the list as soon as this weekend. It is because they have shown some improvements, such as the decline of COVID-19 infection and the healthcare system is less stressed.

Announced on 7 January, the second state of emergency urges the Japanese people to stay indoors unless for essential reasons, orders the businesses such as restaurants and bars to limit their operating hours by 8 p.m., and other companies to telework, and caps the attendance of large events to only 5,000.

While the second state of emergency is less strict than that of last Spring, the government officials are concerned that the state of emergency might hurt Japan's economy. Some of the officials also shared the concern that the lift of state of emergency might trigger another wave of infections.

Previously, the governors of Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo proposed on Tuesday to Nishimura that the state of emergency be lifted from their prefectures. Aichi, Fukuoka, and Gifu prefectures also followed suit. Nishimura stated that the central government will make the decision after consulting the experts and making sure that the COVID-19 will not spread again.

Should the government agree, then it will talk to the panel of experts on Friday before taking the decision at the meeting of the COVID-19 task force. Suga, on the other hand, asserted that Tokyo and its three vicinities should follow the scheduled deadline. In order to be excluded from the state of emergency, a prefecture must first leave Stage 4, the worst level of the four-point scale.

Source: https://bit.ly/3r2o5Y8