Japan adopts new aid package for coronavirus-hit businesses

TOKYO: Japan yesterday adopted a one trillion yen ($9.6 billion) level fresh emergency package for businesses battered by the coronavirus outbreak, featuring 500 billion yen in zero-interest loans for small- and mid-sized companies short of cash due to sharp falls in sales.

The government will also provide 4,100 yen a day in subsidy for freelance workers who are forced to give up their spot jobs so they can take care of their children during the school closure period, expected to run through early April, according to officials.

The new measures came about a month after the government launched the first package featuring low-interest loans totalling 500 billion yen for smalland medium-sized companies in the tourism and other virus-hit sectors.

Earlier yesterday, the Cabinet approved a bill that would enable Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency if needed as Japan scrambles to curb coronavirus infections ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Abe, who faced criticism for being too relaxed in his initial response to the viral outbreak, has sought the power to prepare for “the worst case scenario.”

The bill, revising a 2013 law for dealing with new types of influenza and other infectious diseases, would grant the power for two years.

Opposition parties, however, maintain that the existing law is sufficient for handling the outbreak, which was first detected in China late last year.

The bill is expected to clear the lower house on Thursday and the upper house on Friday. Both chambers are controlled by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.

The legal change would allow the prime minister to declare a state of emergency if coronavirus infections spread rapidly across the country and raise fears of a grave impact on people’s lives and the economy.

Once an emergency is declared, prefectural governors can instruct local residents to stay indoors and ask for school closures as well as event cancellations.

Abe has already requested that schools across the nation close and big sports and cultural events be cancelled or postponed.

But under current law, the government does not have the legal power to enforce school closures or event cancellations.

The number of confirmed cases in Japan has surpassed 1,100.

Since Monday, Japan has been restricting inbound travel from China, the epicentre of the viral outbreak, and South Korea, which has seen a surge in infections.

All travellers from the Asian neighbours will be asked to undergo quarantine at designated facilities for 14 days and refrain from using public transportation.