TOKYO — Japan will declare “short and powerful” states of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, and two other prefectures, a cabinet minister said on Friday, as the country struggles to contain a resurgent pandemic just three months ahead of the Olympics.
Under a new state of emergency from April 25 to May 11, the government will require restaurants, bars, and karaoke parlours serving alcohol to close, and big sporting events to be held without spectators, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said.
Breaching the restrictions will in some cases carry penalties under a recently revised law, he said.
“We absolutely have to limit the movement of people, and we have to do it decisively,”…
Keep on reading: Japan to issue ‘short, powerful’ state of emergency for Tokyo, elsewhere