Taiwan’s Closest Regional Ally To Declare SoE

Japan on the day it declared emergency measures

The leader of Taiwan’s closest region ally, will later today declare a state of emergency (SoE),

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Monday his intent to apply the measure to the nation’s capital, Tokyo, and a further six prefectures around the country. These will include the population centers of Osaka in central Japan, and Fukuoka in the west.

The effects this will have of Taiwan remain to be seen.

The announcement will come as part of Japan’s latest effort in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak currently sweeping the nation of 127 million.

Tokyo is also readying a huge 108 trillion yen (US $1 trillion) to help ease the economic impact of the announcement. It is thought the package will include cash payments to households in the affected areas.

Whilst set to help the national economy in the short-term the virus is forecast to have a huge impact in the long-term according to Japanese government news sources.

As of Monday, April 6th, Japan has seen 3,906 confirmed cases of the virus with 92 fatalities. However, Japan still lags behind many other developed nations in the numbers of those tested.

The latest figures of those to be tested for the virus stand at just 365 per million; numbers comparable to Thailand and Cambodia.

Mark Buckton

Mark is a journalism vet of 20 years with most of those years spent in Tokyo, Japan, as a columnist for The Japan Times and numerous other publications. His work has appeared on CNN, in the BBC, NPR, and in several dozen other media forms and publications across five continents.