Aichi Prefecture has asked the central government to add it to regions placed under a state of emergency amid the spread of the new coronavirus, Gov. Hideaki Omura said Thursday.
The prefecture, home to a number of major Japanese companies including Toyota Motor Corp., will also declare its own state of emergency Friday afternoon and request people to refrain from making nonessential outings following a rise in the number of people infected with the pneumonia-causing virus, he said.
The move came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures through May 6.