TOKYO GOVERNOR CALLS FOR FEWER OUTINGS

TOKYO Tokyo’s governor on Monday called on residents to avoid outings as the coronavirus crisis deepened, but said it was up to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency to tackle it.

As much of the rest of the world has gone into strict lockdowns to fight the coronavirus, Japan has so far managed to avoid the kind of outbreaks that have ravaged parts of Europe and the United States and restrictions are only requests.

However, a spike in cases in Tokyo appeared to be driving home the potential risk.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, pictured, last week appealed to Tokyo residents to avoid all but necessary outings through April 12.

“The number of infections continues to increase from last week and we are at a crucial moment,” he said.