He was referring to Japan s nationwide state of emergency declared in April 2020, in the earlier days of the coronavirus pandemic. The state of emergency at the time ended in late May.
This latest state of emergency in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa till Feb. 7 was announced by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week, in a bid to combat the latest surge in coronavirus infections.
Japan has recorded more than 298,000 confirmed Covid-19 infections while at least 4,192 lives have been taken by the disease, according to data from public broadcaster NHK.
Limited impact on Japan
Oxford Economics Nagai cited several factors to explain the limited economic impact, including business restrictions that are mainly targeted only at restaurants and bars in the areas under the state of emergency.