Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga prepares to attend a meeting of his Cabinet on April 23. (Koichi Ueda)

The government on April 23 formally approved a 17-day third state of emergency that will encompass Golden Week to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

The state of emergency, which will remain in place from April 25 until May 11, covers Tokyo and three western Japan prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto. 

Establishments that serve alcohol and operate karaoke equipment will be asked to close their doors during the period along with commercial facilities with a floor space exceeding 1,000 square meters.

In addition, the government also approved pre-emergency measures for Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku.

The latest state of emergency follows ones issued in April 2020 and January.

The pre-emergency measures for Miyagi and Okinawa prefectures will also remain in place until May 11 beyond the original deadline of May 5.

“By implementing stiff measures over a short period of time, such as requests to close doors temporarily, we will thoroughly control the flow of people and restrain a further spread of infections,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, the state minister in charge of economic revitalization who also heads the central government’s efforts against the pandemic, said at a meeting on April 23 of experts dealing with the pandemic.

In the prefectures covered by the state of emergency, restaurants that do not serve alcohol can remain open until 8 p.m. Delivery and takeout services will not be affected.

Prefectures neighboring those under the state of emergency will also be asked to request that bars and restaurants in their jurisdiction also not serve alcohol.

The central government will provide support to prefectural governors that distribute money to cooperating businesses. To restrain the flow of people, public transportation companies will be asked to move up the last daily runs on weekdays and to reduce the number of trains and buses operating on weekends.

Schools will not close, but requests will be issued to refrain from extracurricular activities and other activities that carry a high risk of possible infection.

Sporting events that draw large crowds will, in principle, only be allowed without fans in the stands.

Businesses that do not obey orders to close face a maximum fine of 300,000 yen ($2,780).

At his April 23 news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said there were no plans to increase the amount of money distributed to establishments that close operations during the state of emergency because they serve alcohol.

Businesses in the four prefectures as well as those under pre-emergency measures receive between 40,000 and 100,000 yen a day if they are small while outlets of major companies receive a maximum 200,000 yen a day.