[Update January 20] The Japanese government has decided to place Tokyo and 12 other prefectures under a quasi-state of emergency from Friday January 21.
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[January 19] With the recent surge of new Covid-19 infections, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, Japan could be placing Tokyo and 12 other prefectures under a quasi-state of emergency. Last week, Tokyo reintroduced dining restrictions to help curb the spread of the virus.
As reported by The Japan Times, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Tuesday that the government plans on declaring a quasi-emergency in 13 prefectures severely hit by the Omicron variant. A final decision is expected to be made sometime today (Wednesday January 19). If approved, the quasi-emergency will go into effect from Friday January 21 through to Sunday February 13.
Once declared, Japan will see a total of 16 prefectures placed under preventative measures. Currently, a quasi-emergency is in effect in Hiroshima, Okinawa and Yamaguchi until the end of January. The prefectures that have asked to be included in a quasi-state of emergency are: Aichi, Chiba, Gifu, Gunma, Kagawa, Kanagawa, Kumamoto, Mie, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Niigata, Saitama and Tokyo.
Additionally, Hyogo, Kyoto and Osaka prefectures are also considering requesting a quasi-state of emergency.
Under the quasi-state of emergency, local governors are able to ask restaurants to shorten business hours and even refrain from serving alcohol. Residents will also be asked to avoid travelling across prefectures. Kishida also plans to halt Japan's vaccination-testing package which grants vaccinated people or those who test negative exceptions from pandemic restrictions.
A total of 5,185 Covid-19 cases were reported in Tokyo on Tuesday with nationwide cases exceeding 30,000.
This article was originally published on January 18 and updated on January 19.
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