As Japan spent its first weekend under a national state of emergency amid the COVID-19 outbreak, prefectural governors agreed on the need to limit unnecessary, nonessential travel between prefectures, to avoid large crowds, and to practice social distancing. But the issue of business closures and financial aid remains contentious.
While some have called on local businesses to close or reduce their hours of operation immediately and announced financial assistance measures, other governors say they are still discussing the idea of asking merchants to close.
Under its state of emergency declaration, the central government last week empowered prefectural governors to request that businesses close.