TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan recorded 503 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, its biggest daily increase since the start of the pandemic, as a state of emergency took effect but commuters still crowded some trains into Tokyo despite government calls to stay at home.
Less than usual passersby are seen on a street after the government announced the state of emergency for the capital following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at Kabukicho shopping and entertainment district in Tokyo, Japan April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
The jump in new COVID-19 cases, including 144 in the capital, underscored the struggle of Japanese authorities to contain the outbreak without imposing a sweeping, mandatory lockdown on the population as most countries overseas have done.
A day after the state of emergency was proclaimed, some Tokyo trains were still full of commuters, some voicing confusion over how they were now expected to restrict their movements to stem transmissions of the virus.
The month-long state of emergency gives regional governors more power to press businesses to close. But Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was expected to announce only on Friday which categories of businesses will have to shut, so many shops and businesses were left to decide what to do for now.
Moreover, authorities have generally been given no powers to penalise people