With numbers of new COVID-19 cases across the Tokyo region surging to record levels, the government is expected to announce a state of emergency this week for the capital and three adjacent prefectures.
But Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government already has doubts about its effectiveness, and wants the Diet to approve a bill by the start of next month that would revise the 2020 special measures law on infectious diseases.
The revision could strengthen the existing law by levying fines against businesses that ignore government demands to shorten their hours or shut to prevent the spread of infection.