THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 13, 2020 at 18:15 JST
The Diet passes a bill revising a 2013 special measures law to give greater authority to the prime minister and the government to deal directly with the coronavirus outbreak at an Upper House plenary session on March 13. (Takeshi Iwashita)
The Diet passed a bill on March 13 revising a 2013 special measures law to give the prime minister and the government greater authority to deal directly with the coronavirus outbreak.
The revision allows Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency, under which prefectural governors can request and order residents to refrain from going out and holding events unless they are necessary and urgent.
A majority of the members of the ruling and opposition parties voted to pass the bill at an Upper House plenary session.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner, Komeito, along with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People and others supported the bill.
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