Japanese hopes crumble as rapid rise in cases reported

JAPAN recorded a surge in coronavirus cases yesterday, shattering early optimism that the country had successfully contained Covid-19.

Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, held back from declaring a state of national emergency but said: “Japan is holding up, barely. We are in a critical stage. We need to be ready for a long-term battle.”

The country’s low number of cases had baffled experts, as it has so far avoided a lockdown and has not implemented widespread testing.

Japan was the third country to be affected by Covid-19, reporting its first imported case as early as January 16.

Despite life continuing largely as normal, by Friday it had confirmed only 1,387 cases, far below the numbers reported by many European countries. Until this week, it even held off from cancelling the Olympics in July.

But now the numbers are rising more rapidly. On Saturday, officials confirmed 60 new cases in Tokyo – the capital’s biggest daily increase yet.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike issued a plea for residents to avoid non-essential outings until April 12, particularly this weekend. Some department stores, cinemas and museums closed, but the restrictions remained voluntary – in contrast to the more rigorous lockdowns elsewhere in the world.

Some experts say cultural practices – such as bowing rather than shaking hands, fastidious handwashing, and widespread use of face masks – could have slowed the spread of the virus.

But others say low levels of testing mean Japan’s outbreak is likely far worse than authorities yet realise.