Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga yesterday told a meeting of ruling party executives that he would declare a state of emergency for the three western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to stem the spread of COVID-19, Kyodo news reported.
Responding to pressure from Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures in eastern Japan, Suga last week declared a one-month state of emergency for that region until Feb. 7.
However, the number of coronavirus cases has also climbed in the west, prompting Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to also seek a state of emergency. The government is finalizing plans to do so today, and could also consider adding the central prefectures of Aichi — home to Toyota Motor Corp — and Gifu, Kyodo reported, citing government sources.
Adding those five prefectures would mean a state of emergency for about half of Japan’s population of 126 million people.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato did not confirm the report, saying only that the government would “swiftly” consider the measures for the Osaka area.
Suga has been criticized for what many said was a slow, confusing and piecemeal response to the COVID-19 pandemic as coronavirus infections hover near record highs.
A Kyodo survey published on Sunday showed about 79 percent saying Suga’s decision to call the state of emergency for Tokyo came too late.
The Japanese government is also asking residents of the Tokyo area to stay in as much as possible, and for bars and restaurants to close by 8pm.
“Please refrain from going out not only at night, but also during the day,” Japanese Minister of Economy Yasutoshi Nishimura wrote on Twitter, noting that there had been no decrease in daytime outings over the three-day weekend even under the state of emergency.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in