Japan Govt Spokesman: We are not yet in a situation to call a state of emergency

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

A spokesman of the Japanese Cabinet Office said on Wednesday, “we are not yet in a situation to call a state of emergency.”

Our priority is to get coronavirus infections under control, he added.

Further comments

Will do whatever is needed to maintain employment, stabilise the economy.

We are at the brink of a virus-related emergency situation.

We continue to discuss plans on whether to extend nationwide school closures, discussing with experts.

His comments come after Japanese PM Shinzo Abe noted that there have been various requests to stop the movement of people.

Meanwhile, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported earlier today that Tokyo is considering keeping city-operated schools closed through early May, a day after coronavirus infections in the Japanese capital hit a daily record of 78, as cited by Reuters.

Tokyo’s education board is scheduled to meet as early as Wednesday to discuss the plan, the Nikkei business daily reported.

USD/JPY reaction

USD/JPY is bouncing-back towards 108.00, as the yen came under fresh selling pressure on the mixed headlines on the virus situation while broad US dollar rebound also helped. However, the upside may remain capped amid losses in the S&P 500 futures.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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