After Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga placed Tokyo and the Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures under a COVID-19 state of emergency until February 7, several regional governments in the country have also asked for the same issuance.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, together with leaders of Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures in central Japan, have already sent their request to the minister in charge of COVID-19 policies, Yasutoshi Nishimura.
The issue was not decided immediately. The government’s panel of medical experts will study first the situation, Gov. Yoshimura said.
It is expected that other prefectures will follow suit.
More than 7,000 new cases a day have been recently recorded in Japan, with Tokyo posting a surge of more than 2,000. There are more than 270,000 confirmed cases in Japan overall, and over 3,900 deaths.
These numbers forced the government to take swift action, where arresting the virus surge has become a top political priority.
The Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba state of emergency asked bars and restaurants in the Tokyo area to close early. Residents were also advised to avoid non-essential movements and travels after 8 p.m.