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 The emergency is now due to expire on May 6 but Abe said the
situation remains tough and further cooperation is needed from
Japanese citizens, although he would make a final decision on May 4
after consultations with experts.
"Thanks to the efforts of our citizens, we have managed to avoid an
explosion of cases as has been seen overseas," Abe told reporters on
Friday evening. "But the medical situation remains tough and we must
call for forther cooperation from our nation."
He added that he was inclined towards extending the state of
emergency for roughly a month and would hold a news conference to
explain his decision.
On Thursday, Abe warned citizens to prepare for a "drawn-out battle"
against the new coronavirus and political sources told Reuters the
government was planning to lengthen the emergency for about a month.
Abe said he would base his final decision on the recommendation of a
panel of experts, which said earlier on Friday that while the number
of cases appeared to be on the decline, the situation was not as
good as they would like.
"For a while, we are going to need to keep these policies going,"
panel member Shigeru Omi told a news conference, adding that there
were regional variations in outbreaks and the medical system in some
areas was struggling to cope.
Economics Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said experts had also said
some regions needed to keep strict restrictions in place while
others could start to ease them. Abe said he would consider this
matter in making his final decision.
Japan has confirmed more than 14,000 cases and 436 deaths from
COVID-19, the highly contagious lung disease caused by the new
coronavirus, according to an NHK tally.
Of the confirmed cases, more than 4,000 were in the capital, Tokyo,
with 165 new ones reported on Friday.
But there are worries that Japan's limited testing regime has
undercounted many likely coronavirus cases, and fears that the
medical system may be strained caring for them.
The outbreak and the concurrent slump in business activity is
darkening the outlook for the world's third biggest economy,
prompting calls for more spending even after parliament approved an
extra budget to fund a $1.1 trillion stimulus package.
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Consumer prices in Tokyo fell for the first time in three years in
April and national factory activity sagged, data showed on Friday,
increasing worries the coronavirus outbreak could tip the country
back into deflation.
WARNING
The government has appealed for vigilance during the long Golden
Week holiday - normally a peak travel period - that runs through May
6, calling on people to stay home and reduce contact with others.
Abe declared the emergency on April 7, initially for Tokyo and
several other prefectures after a jump in infections, and later
extended it nationwide.
It gives governors greater power to tell people to stay at home and
ask businesses to close, but in most cases does not mandate
penalties for non-compliance, relying instead on social pressure and
traditional respect for authority.
Tokyo has seen a decline in daily reported cases since hitting a
peak of 201 on April 17, with further falls into double digits this
week. But the city's governor, Yuriko Koike, has warned residents
not to be complacent.
On Friday, the Nippon Foundation, a philanthropic organisation,
unveiled the first wing of a field hospital built in a waterside
district of Tokyo.
Set up in an arena built for Paralympic sports, the 100-bed facility
features alcoves containing a bed, locker and table set apart from
each other. Other beds will be put in tents and expanded as needed,
NHK reported.
The International Olympic Committee and the government in March
postponed the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan for a
year, until July 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reporting by Chris Gallagher, Takashi Umekawa, and Rocky Swift;
Additional writing by Linda Sieg and Elaine Lies; Editing by Lincoln
Feast and Mark Heinrich)
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