Japanese governors on Wednesday urged the state to compensate businesses so they can comply with requests to halt operations and cancel events, a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

The governors, including the chiefs of the seven prefectures covered by the state of emergency that runs through May 6, also called for central government support for the country's health care system to prevent its collapse due to a sudden increase in patients.

Following the governors' request made during an online meeting, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reiterated at a news conference that individual businesses would not receive compensation for suspending operations.