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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during an upper house plenary session. Japan’s Diet is debating an amendment to the special measures law which would give him the authority to declare a state of emergency for a given period of time when a situation threatens to have a major impact on the lives of the people and the national economy. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus: Japan fears new infection clusters as it debates emergency powers bill

  • There were 59 new Covid-19 infections in Japan on Tuesday, as the Diet discussed a bill to give more powers to governors and PM Shinzo Abe
  • Meanwhile the minister in charge of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics said it would be ‘inconceivable’ to cancel or postpone the Games
Japan reported a spike of 59 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the largest single-day increase since the illness was first confirmed in Japan, as lawmakers debated an emergency powers bill that would grant the government the right to declare a state of emergency.

The sudden spike in new cases is no cause for serious alarm, said Kazuhiro Tateda, a member of the government’s task force set up to handle the crisis and president of the Japanese Association of Infectious Diseases.

He cautioned, however, that more clusters are likely to emerge in the coming days and weeks.

“The main reason that we saw an increase is because the government has stepped up testing, while this may also be explained as simply a daily variation,” he said.

Pedestrians wear protective masks while walking past stores in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. Photo: Bloomberg

“There are some areas where figures are higher, such as Hokkaido, although that cluster does look like it is improving,” he said. Japan’s most northerly prefecture has reported 111 cases in recent days, with the governor implementing measures designed to limit the further spread of the disease.

“The worry now is that we will see more clusters emerging in big cities, like Tokyo or Osaka,” Tateda said. “So far we have only seen sporadic cases in the big cities and that could change – but I do not anticipate a situation like what we are seeing in Italy or Iran, where both the numbers of infections and deaths are going up very rapidly.”

At least one additional new case was confirmed on Wednesday morning, national broadcaster NHK reported, bringing the total number of infections to over 1,200, including 696 cases aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship. A total of 19 people have died in the outbreak, seven of whom were passengers aboard the liner.

The lower house of the Japanese Diet began discussions on the emergency powers bill on Tuesday, with the legislation set to give added power to prefectural governors, such as telling people to refrain from leaving their homes and to close schools when the prime minister declares an emergency.

The legislation is an amendment to the special measures law to grant the government greater leeway to act in the event of a national crisis. It was passed in 2013, two years after much of eastern Japan was devastated by a magnitude-9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami and nuclear accident. Japan on Wednesday marked the ninth anniversary of the disaster.

The law gives the prime minister the authority to declare a state of emergency for a given period of time and covering an identified geographic area. The prime minister would be able to exercise the declaration when a situation threatens to have a major impact on the lives of the people and the national economy.

Additional powers would also be granted to local governments to temporarily limit the activities of residents and cancel events.

Opposition parties have objected to parts of the legislation, insisting, for example, that the prime minister must obtain the prior consent of the Diet before declaring a state of emergency. But analysts say they are walking a fine line as the public is generally supportive of measures that are perceived as freeing the government from red tape and increasing the speed at which it can respond to a crisis.

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“The government and Mr Abe have come under a lot of criticism for being too slow to react to the problem when it first occurred, so they are now trying to show that they are going to be more decisive and quick to respond,” said Mieko Nakabayashi, formerly a politician with the Democratic Party of Japan and now a professor in the school of social sciences at Tokyo’s Waseda University.

“I think we saw that when Abe made the dramatic and sudden decision to close all the schools in the nation and he is trying to make up for not being so decisive earlier on,” she said.

Despite being a critic of many of the government’s policies, Nakabayashi believes this legislation is appropriate and required.

People walk in the snow in Sapporo in Hokkaido, amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Photo: Kyodo

“There is scepticism in some quarters and claims that the government does not need these extra powers, but ordinary people are worried and this does act as a sort of reassurance to them,” she said. “After all, the health and well-being of the public is a major issue that needs to be addressed and a delay of even a short time might have a serious impact on some people.

“The opposition parties that are proposing limits on this legislation need to be very careful,” she added. “If the public senses that they are simply acting to frustrate the government or to delay the vote, then they will very quickly lose favour.”

Debate on the legislation is expected to be concluded on Thursday, with the government’s large majority in the lower house meaning that approval is a formality. It will go to the upper house on Friday where, once again, assent is likely to be granted rapidly.

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Meanwhile, a member of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games executive board told Reuters that a delay of one or two years would be the “most feasible” option if the Games could not be held this summer due to the coronavirus outbreak, as the financial damage from a cancellation or holding them without spectators would be too great, while a delay of less than a year would clash with other major professional sports schedules.

Haruyuki Takahashi said the Tokyo 2020 executive board had just started looking at scenarios for how the virus could affect the Games.

Organisers have consistently said the Games would not be cancelled or postponed.

A security guard wearing a face mask walks in front of the Olympic countdown clock outside Tokyo station on March 11. Photo: AFP

On Wednesday, Japan’s minister in charge of the Olympics said postponing or cancelling the Games was “inconceivable”.

“From the viewpoint of athletes who are the main protagonists in the Tokyo Games, as they are making adjustments and preparations for this once-in-four-years event … it is inconceivable to cancel or postpone,” Seiko Hashimoto told a parliamentary committee.

She conceded that the International Olympic Committee would make a final decision on the Games.

“We think it is important that the government gives correct information so that the IOC makes an appropriate decision,” she said.

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Also on Wednesday, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea said the parks will remain closed until early April as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The parks were closed on February 29 and were initially expected to reopen on March 16.

Additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse

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