Japan considers Covid state of emergency

People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk at Ginza shopping street in Tokyo on Monday (Koji Sasahara/AP)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said vaccine approval was being speeded up and border controls tightened to curb the spread of the coronavirus as he promised on Monday to consider declaring a state of emergency.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike and the governors of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa had asked the national government on Saturday to declare the emergency after the capital recorded a daily record of 1,337 cases on New Year’s Eve.

Worries have been growing about holding the Olympics in July, which will mean the arrival of tens of thousands of athletes, officials and media.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga takes at his New Year’s press conference (Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool/AP)

Mr Suga stressed his determination to hold the Olympics, which he said will serve as “proof that people have overcome the coronaivus”, giving “hope and courage”. Preparations were moving ahead, he said.

Japan issued an official emergency warning in April last year through late May, urging restaurants to close early and people to work from home.

Japan has never had a lockdown, attempting to juggle the need to keep the economy going with health risks.

The declaration carries no legal penalties but works as a strong warning for people to work from home, reduce non-essential outings and social distance, as well as having businesses close early, in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.

People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus offer prayers for New Year at the Kanda Myojin Shrine, Tokyo (Koji Sasahara/AP)

Mr Suga told reporters the ruling party would push for a legal change when parliament reconvenes later this month, to allow penalties for violations.

“The situation remains extremely serious,” Mr Suga said at his New Year’s news conference at the prime minister’s residence.

Mr Suga also stressed that vaccine approval was being expedited by a month so that vaccinations can start next month.

Cases have been growing in Japan in recent weeks, with more than 3,400 deaths so far related to the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, India has approved two Covid-19 vaccines, paving the way for a massive inoculation program.

The vaccines are from Oxford University and AstraZeneca and local firm Bharat Biotech.