Japan Lifts Tokyo’s State of Emergency, Eyes Fresh Stimulus

Reuters
By Reuters
May 25, 2020Asia & Pacific
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Japan Lifts Tokyo’s State of Emergency, Eyes Fresh Stimulus
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on May 25, 2020. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool/Getty Images)

TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on May 25 that Japan will lift a state of emergency for Tokyo and four remaining areas later in the day but that it could be reimposed if the pace of infections picked up.

Social distancing curbs were loosened for most of the country on May 14 as new infections fell, but the government has kept Tokyo and four other prefectures under watch.

Abe also told a news conference that the total amount of stimulus from two economic packages would exceed 200 trillion yen ($1.9 trillion) but it would still take considerable time to get back to normal life while controlling infection risks.

He added that Japan had managed to get the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus infection under control in just one and a half months, in its own way, and that this showed the strength of the “Japan model.”

Japan’s economy minister told reporters earlier on Monday the government had received approval from key advisers to remove the state of emergency for all remaining regions.

“While the emergency state will be lifted, it is important to expand economic activity in stages as we establish a new way of living,” Yasutoshi Nishimura said. He added that the head of the advisory panel had recommended close monitoring of Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Hokkaido prefectures, where cases had fluctuated.

The world’s third-largest economy has escaped an explosive outbreak with more than 16,600 infections and 839 deaths so far, according to NHK public broadcaster; however, the epidemic has tipped it into a recession and plunged Abe’s popularity to multi-year lows.

An Asahi newspaper poll conducted at the weekend showed Abe’s support rate at 29 percent—the lowest since he returned to power in late 2012—and disapproval at 52 percent. The results mirrored a Mainichi newspaper survey published on Saturday.

A government task force was set to convene following Abe’s new conference, and the lifting state of emergency would take effect after that meeting.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has previously said the capital would move into “stage one” of loosening restrictions, once the state of emergency was removed. That would allow libraries and museums to reopen, and restaurants to stay open until later in the evening. Subsequent stages would see theaters, cinemas, and fairgrounds reopen.

Tokyo reported 8 new infections on Monday, media said.

Japan's PM Shinzo Abe
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves a venue after a news conference on Japan’s response to the CCP virus in Tokyo on May 25, 2020. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/ Pool/Getty Images)
CORONAVIRUS-JAPAN (1)
Passersby wearing protective masks are seen as the spread of the CCP virus continues, at Shibuya crossing in Tokyo on May 25, 2020. (Issei Kato/Reuters)

Two-Fifths of GDP

To support an economy on track for its deepest slump in postwar history, the government is considering fresh stimulus worth 100 trillion yen ($930 billion), mostly comprising financial aid for companies, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.

The package, to be funded by a second supplementary budget, would follow a record 117 trillion yen ($1.08 trillion) spending plan deployed last month.

The combined stimulus would bring the total spending in response to the pandemic to about 40 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product.

The new package would include 60 trillion yen to expand loan programs that state-affiliated and private financial institutions offer to firms hit by the CCP virus, the Nikkei said. Another 27 trillion yen ($250 billion) would be set aside for other aid including capital injections for ailing firms, the paper said.

The government is expected to approve the budget, which will also include subsidies to help companies pay rent and wages, at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Japan’s economy slipped into recession in the last quarter, and analysts expect another 22 percent contraction in April-June.

By Leika Kihara and Kaori Kaneko

NTD staff contributed to this report.

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