Olympics Approaching... Japanese Local Governments in Tokyo, Osaka, etc. Request State of Emergency Declaration from Government

Dropped to around 1,000 last month but surged over 4 times
July Olympics approaching... Vaccination and supply also facing difficulties

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As Japan's daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 4,000, local governments including Tokyo and Osaka have announced plans to request the government to declare a state of emergency, intensifying the controversy. With daily cases more than quadrupling compared to last month and vaccination rates below 1%, skepticism is growing that the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July will be impossible to hold.

According to NHK on the 19th, Hirofumi Yoshimura, Governor of Osaka Prefecture, stated at a press conference, "It has been two weeks since the priority measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were implemented, but the number of infections reached a record high yesterday, and the situation continues to worsen." He added, "The medical system, including hospital bed shortages, is in an extremely serious condition. Reflecting this crisis, we must request the national government to declare a state of emergency." He emphasized, "We will hold a task force meeting tomorrow to formally decide on the request for the state of emergency declaration."

On the same day, Japan's health authorities reported 4,611 new COVID-19 cases nationwide, with Osaka Prefecture alone accounting for 1,220 cases, marking the highest number ever recorded. Japan's daily COVID-19 cases had peaked at over 7,000 in January, then dropped to the 1,000 range last month, but have surged again this month, exceeding 4,000.

Earlier the previous night, Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, expressed concern at a press conference, saying, "The average number of new cases over the past week has increased by 125% compared to the previous week," and "The upward trend has not changed. Young people are still gathering in busy areas today." She added, "We are considering requesting the government to declare a state of emergency to suppress crowds and strengthen the medical system."

The Japanese government also stated that it has imposed priority measures on 10 metropolitan and prefectural governments, including Tokyo and Osaka, and will review requests for emergency declarations from local governments. At a regular press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said, "It is necessary to promptly review the requests for a state of emergency declaration made by Governors Yoshimura and Koike at their press conferences."

Accordingly, the argument that the Tokyo Olympics, with less than 100 days remaining until the opening, cannot be held is resurfacing. Given the surge in new infections and Japan's vaccination rate of only 0.9%, holding the Olympics is virtually impossible.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan began administering Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on February 17, but according to Japanese health authorities, only about 1.17 million people have received at least one dose so far. The first-dose vaccination rate is 0.9% of the total population, not even reaching 1%. This is known to be the lowest among OECD countries.