Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a monthlong state of emergency on April 7, giving his government and prefectural governments more powers to tackle the spread of COVID-19. Japan Times politics reporter Satoshi Sugiyama discusses how far these powers extend.
Also, Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki on what she learned about isolation from her time aboard the International Space Station. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.
Visit The JT's dedicated COVID-19 site for all the latest updates on the coronavirus situation from around Japan: http://jtimes.jp/covid19
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Read more:
- Abe administration faces flak over hesitance to compensate virus-hit businesses (Satoshi Sugiyama, The Japan Times)
- Japan virus deaths could top 420,000 without social distancing, panel says (Kyodo, The Japan Times)
- Untraceable cases in Japan raise fear outbreak spiraling out of control (Magdalena Osumi, The Japan Times)
- Japan coronavirus-related deaths hit single-day record as total infections top 8,000 (Jiji, Kyodo, The Japan Times)
- Hokkaido declares new state of emergency amid 'second wave' of coronavirus infections (Kyodo, The Japan Times)
- Japan's retailers facing crisis amid coronavirus scare (The Japan Times)
- Abe criticized as tone deaf after lounge-at-home Twitter video (Reuters, Jiji, The Japan Times)
- Deep Dive on Twitter.
