In Japan, the state of emergency extended to the whole country

Japan is tightening its measures to fight the coronavirus as the number of cases has increased significantly since the end of March, risking overloading hospitals. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Thursday April 16 the extension of the state of emergency to the entire Japanese archipelago to best fight against the spread of the coronavirus in the country. Currently, 136 people have died in the country following a Covid-19 infection for 8,600 cases of contamination.

A legal basis

The Japanese state of emergency extends to the whole country but does not mean compulsory and generalized confinement. Initially, this state of emergency was reserved for seven regions of the country, which has 47. Now all of these regions are concerned, for a minimum of one month. This allows regional authorities to recommend that residents restrict their movements as much as possible and encourage certain businesses to close temporarily. However, no sanction is provided for those who do not respect these recommendations, unlike France.

This extension is the result of a request from certain prefectures. In Aichi, in the center of the country, or in Kyoto, in the west, requests have been made in this sense to include these regions in the legal device of the state of emergency. Similar measures have been taken by regions, but these have no legal basis. “If we limit the areas (under state of emergency), people leave to neighboring areas”, explained a little earlier the spokesperson for the Japanese executive, Yoshihide Suga, to justify the establishment of the state of emergency across the country. Moreover, the period which arrives is that of the Golden Weekbetween the end of April and the beginning of April, which corresponds to the period when the Japanese usually travel in droves across the country.