Русский
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Japan, the Japanese government has attempted to orchestrate a coherent nationwide response to the public health crisis, but with mixed results. In the following, I examine the government’s COVID-19 response from January 2020, when the first cases were reported, to March 3 of this year, when Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide announced another extension of the state of emergency for the Tokyo region. After a brief description of the legal framework for government action in such a crisis, I offer a chronological account of steps taken by two successive administrations, the Abe administration and the Suga administration, and the obstacles they encountered at the local level owing to systemic constraints on the prime minister’s powers in responding to the pandemic crisis.
Businesses in Japan violating shutdown orders could face fines up to $4,800
January 7, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
This May 1, 2019 file photo shows the Japanese prime minister s office in Tokyo s Chiyoda Ward. (Mainichi/Masahiro Kawata) TOKYO Businesses in Japan that violate orders to suspend operations amid an expected state of emergency over surging coronavirus cases could face fines of up to 500,000 yen ($4,855), according to a government draft to strengthen a special measures law. The beefed-up steps include allowing prefectural governors to issue legally binding orders to businesses to suspend operations under a declared state of emergency, rather than the current requests to temporarily close.