Japan remains on the brink of a state of emergency as the rate of new coronavirus cases accelerates across the country, its top government spokesman said on Wednesday, amid reports the capital may order public schools to stay closed for a second month.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that controlling the virus that has raced across the world was a top priority. While Japan’s some 2,200 cases and 66 deaths are dwarfed by numbers from the United States, Europe and China, new infections continue to set fresh daily records.
New virus infections in the capital rose to a daily record of 78 on Tuesday, for a total of over 500, amid calls for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency that would allow authorities to trigger a lockdown involving restrictions on movement that would be voluntary rather than legally binding.
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