Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally declared state of emergency for seven prefectures today. The one-month emergency period starts today on April 7, covering Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo and Fukuoka.
Abe said, “According to experts’ calculations, if all of us make efforts to reduce contact between people by at least 70% and if possible 80%, then in two weeks the increase in infections will peak out and we can start to reduce it.”
Additionally, the government approved an emergency economic stimulus package that worth JPY 108.2T. That equals to 20% of Japan’s economy output. Direct fiscal spending would amount to JPY 39T, around 7% of the economy.
