Japan adds to Covid-19 emergency measures

Japan has further strengthened emergency measures to battle the Covid-19 pandemic with signs that new infections are growing at a faster pace from business and industrial centres.

The government today expanded the state of emergency beyond the Tokyo area to regions surrounding the major business and industrial cities of Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in response to requests from local governments for tougher measures to control infections. The emergency measures will remain effective until 7 February.

Seven prefectures added to the state of emergency are Osaka and nearby Hyogo that includes Kobe, Kyoto in western Japan, Aichi that includes Nagoya, Gifu in central Japan, Fukuoka on Kyushu island and Tochigi north of Tokyo.

"I hope everyone understands that these are necessary measures to turn around the Covid-19 surge," Japan's premier Yoshihide Suga said yesterday.

The 11 affected prefectures account for nearly 80pc of the country's Covid-19 infections, which surpassed 300,000 yesterday. The number of new infections has been soaring in Japan, particularly in large cities, since late November. It took just over three weeks to add 100,000 to the total after exceeding 200,000 in late December, according to government data.

The Japanese government has also temporarily suspended the entry of all foreign nationals to stop new Covid-19 variants from entering the country. The enforced quarantine measures exclude foreigners with Japanese residency, who are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Japan had gradually resumed business travel since July last year under agreements with 11 Asian territories, such as China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, where the spread of Covid-19 is under control.

The country's second state of emergency is unlikely to have as much impact on its economy as the first emergency declared in April-May last year, as the measures focus on stopping people's movement and interaction, denting consumer spending. The Japanese economy posted a record 28pc contraction in the April-June 2020 quarter before rebounding by 23pc in July-September. But the impact could be greater if the state of emergency fails to control the pandemic and is extended beyond the initial one-month period. Japan is working to start Covid-19 vaccinations as early as late February.

Japanese airlines have swiftly reduced the number of domestic flights in response to the expected slowdown in travel, weighing on any jet fuel demand recovery .

Japan's manufacturing activity has so far stayed on a steady recovery path, led by auto producers. But the recovery has now come under pressure as a shortage of semiconductor chips is starting to threaten domestic auto producers following output cuts by their overseas counterparts.

Japan's car output has shown a strong rebound from a Covid-19 low of below 300,000 units in May last year, supported by strong domestic and export sales. November output eased by 2pc from a year earlier to around 750,000 units, according to Japanese auto producers.

By Rieko Suda

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