Coronavirus: prolonged state of emergency in Japan, with the approach of the Tokyo Olympics

In Japan, the government on Friday extended the state of emergency for three weeks in four departments, including Tokyo supposed to host the Olympics.

Japan is currently registering some 5,300 new cases of Covid-19 daily on a weekly average, for some 10,500 deaths since early 2020. 

Faced with a still worrying health crisis in Japan, the government on Friday extended the state of emergency for three weeks in four departments, including that of Tokyo supposed to host the Olympics this summer, and two additional departments will join this device.

"The number of new cases of infections is high in large cities, and hospitals continue to be overwhelmed" in departments in the west of the country, said Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

>> LIVE

 -

Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Friday, May 7

Consequently, the government "decided to extend the state of emergency until May 31", he added, while this device was initially to end next Tuesday in the four departments of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo (west), concerned since April 25.

Activated for the third time

The prefectures of Aichi (center) and Fukuoka (southwest), also densely populated, will also be included by the state of emergency, confirmed Yoshihide Suga. Activated for the third time in the country in just over a year, the Japanese state of emergency provides for less severe restrictions than the strict lockdowns implemented elsewhere in the world. It consists above all in restricting the activity of certain physical businesses, in particular imposing the temporary closure of bars and restaurants serving alcohol, under penalty of a fine. However, some restrictions could be eased, according to local media, such as banning spectators for sporting events.

Japan is currently recording some 5,300 new cases of Covid-19 daily on a weekly average, for some 10,500 deaths since the start of 2020. The scale of the pandemic thus remains limited compared to other regions of the world, but the health crisis is exhausting the Japanese hospital system, especially as the vaccination campaign is progressing very slowly in the archipelago.

Anti-JO petition

The new outbreak of infections also represents a threat for the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8), postponed for a year in 2020 because of the pandemic. The Japanese government, the organizers of Tokyo-2020 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are working hard to ensure that the Olympics will take place "in complete safety". Spectators from abroad have already been excluded from the Olympics, and the organizers have yet to decide the question of the public residing in Japan.

But the arrival of more than 10,000 athletes and delegations from some 200 countries continues to worry many Japanese, fearing that the event will further worsen the health situation in the country.

A clear majority of Japanese are thus opposed to the holding of the Olympics this summer, wanting either a further postponement or a complete cancellation, according to all polls for several months.

>> READ ALSO -

 Tokyo Olympic Games: will French athletes be vaccinated upstream?

More than 210,000 people have already signed an online petition entitled "Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives", launched Wednesday by a media lawyer and former candidate for governor of Tokyo.

World athletics boss Sebastian Coe, who attended a reduced rehearsal of the Olympic marathon in Sapporo (northern Japan) on Wednesday, said on Friday he was aware of "difficult times" Japan is facing.

“The safety of our athletes is also important to us, but also the safety of the local community,” he told reporters in Tokyo.

The health situation complicates the conduct of several Games test events, as well as that of the Olympic torch relay, which started at the end of March in Japan.

Some runners give up participating, and many stages are organized behind closed doors by the local authorities.

Tokyo-2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said on Friday that IOC President Thomas Bach would be "welcome" if he came to Tokyo in May, while believing it would be "difficult" to organize such a visit. due to the prolongation of the state of emergency.