Japan PM Suga: Will consider state of emergency for Tokyo area
After Japan reported a record 4,520 new coronavirus cases on December 31, Prime Minister (PM) Yoshihide Suga announced that the government would consider declaring a state of emergency for the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area as cases climb and strain the country’s medical system, per Reuters.
Key quotes
“Even during the three days of the New Year’s holidays, cases didn’t go down in the greater Tokyo area.”
“We felt that a stronger message was needed.”
“Many of the new cases with unknown origins were likely linked to restaurants, and that the government’s latest request for restaurants in the Tokyo area to close at 8 p.m. - rather than 10 p.m. - should be effective.”
Market reaction
With the third wave of the coronavirus intensifying in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index retreated from 30-year highs to close 0.68% lower at 27,258.
USD/JPY is off the lows but remains pressured around 103.00. The spot hit a daily low of 102.94 in early Asia.
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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.
