Coronavirus crisis pushes Japan to announce state of emergency

Japan is preparing to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other regions as the country's coronary crisis escalates.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the measures would be announced in detail on Tuesday, and would include an increase in social estrangement, but would not amount to a strict closure of the kind in place in Europe.

Abe also said that the government is preparing a $ 990 billion stimulus package to help the country's economy during the crisis, including cash payments to families.

Japan was one of the first countries to be affected by the coronavirus outside China but reported a few new cases and deaths until recent weeks, when both began to rise.

Abe said government task force experts had urged him to prepare for the declaration of a state of emergency that would cover Tokyo, the neighboring Chiba, Kanagawa and Setama prefectures, the western hub of Osaka and neighboring Hyogo, as well as the southwestern region of Fukuoka.

Tokyo has been hit the hardest by the increasing number of cases, as hospitals there said they were overburdened with sudden burdens.

Tokyo Governor Yoriko Koike said that the city will start transporting patients with no minor symptoms from hospitals to hotels and other accommodations to allow the flow of patients with severe symptoms.

The Japanese Ministry of Health confirmed 3,654 coronavirus cases, including 84 deaths from the disease.

This figure does not include 712 other injuries and 11 deaths on board the Diamond Princess, which was isolated in the Yokohama port near Tokyo earlier this year.

The state of emergency will enable governors in affected areas to demand restrictions on movement and trade, but they do little in the way of enforcement.

Conservatives can ask people to stay inside - something the governor of Tokyo has already done by asking people to limit unnecessary trips and work from home.

It also allows rulers to invite companies that attract large numbers of people, such as entertainment venues or supermarkets, to close their doors.

But there are no penalties for those who defy the demand, nor any other implementation mechanisms.

Public transportation is expected to continue to operate, although this may be on a more limited basis. Shops and other businesses may remain open.

The strongest power the Conservatives bestowed was the ability to drive buildings or land for medical purposes.

This could mean asking landowners to hand over property to build temporary medical facilities, or businesses to make room for housing patients.

Conservatives can also shut down public institutions such as schools, many of which have been closed since February after Abe urged to close the country.

While the procedure does not contain strong enforcement measures, projections indicate that most individuals and companies will comply.

A request from the Governor of Tokyo for people to stay indoors on weekends also led to noticeably quieter streets, even on the last sunny days of the cherry blossom season.

The Japanese legal system, influenced by the legacy of wartime excesses, limits the government's authority over its citizens.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the Emergency Implementation Law, said residents would be asked, not the matter.

"Our legal system is created so that people as a whole unite and share the burden of preventing the spread of infection," he said in parliament on Monday, rather than resorting to coercive measures.

There are indications that the audience is on board, as a poll released by TBS on Monday showed that 80 percent of respondents supported the declaration of emergency.

The state of emergency comes from a revised 2012 draft law aimed at slowing the spread of new flu strains.