Coronavirus: Japan’s major cities go quiet after state of emergency declared

The declaration, covering roughly 56 million people, enables local governors to impose stay-home orders and restrict the operation of certain facilities

Grocery shopping, visits to hospitals and commuting are still allowed under the month-long state of emergency

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A handful of people walk on the usually busy Takeshita street in Tokyo's Harajuku district on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:55pm, 8 Apr 2020Updated: 3:55pm, 8 Apr 2020

Tokyo and some major cities in Japan appeared unusually quiet on Wednesday with many stores shut and fewer people in the streets, a day after a state of emergency was declared because of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Aside from supermarkets, chemists and others providing critical services, many businesses in Tokyo, Osaka and the five other prefectures for which the emergency was declared have decided to stay closed through May 6 in line with the government’s request for people to stay at home and limit social contact.

The closed businesses include major department stores, cinemas, bowling alleys and shops inside station buildings. Department store sections selling food, however, continued to operate.

Trains and buses were running, although the number of people taking them was significantly lower than usual.

A woman uses her phone on a train in Tokyo on Wednesday, the first day of the state of emergency. Photo: AFP

“On a usual morning, traffic is very busy here, but I feel there are significantly fewer commuters [today],” said a 59-year-old company executive in front of JR Yurakucho Station in central Tokyo.

“We have employees working from home, but there are tasks that force me to come to office, such as dealing with some documents that need to be signed with a seal.”