YOKOHAMA/SAITAMA: Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures, which neighbor Tokyo, announced Friday their intent to follow the metropolitan government's footsteps and request business suspensions under a state of emergency over the new coronavirus.

"Doing something different from Tokyo will cause confusion," Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa told a press conference in Yokohama, the capital of his prefecture.

"The entire Tokyo metropolitan area should tackle (the outbreak) as one," Saitama Governor Motohiro Ono said at a press conference in Saitama, the namesake capital of his prefecture.

Their statements came just after the Tokyo government announced its request that many businesses suspend operations from Saturday, in a bid to step up the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

Kuroiwa had been cautious about business closures. But he now said he will "follow the flow" after the metropolitan and national governments agreed on the range of business sectors subject to the request.

Like Tokyo, businesses in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of the Japanese capital, are asked to suspend operations from Saturday. The target sectors mirror those of Tokyo.

Kuroiwa also expressed his readiness to provide financial relief similar to the one Tokyo plans to provide to small businesses that follow its request.

In Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, a range of businesses are asked to close from Monday. The prefecture sees the need to give some time to prepare because the prefecture has many small companies.

Meanwhile, Saitama will not ask restaurants or bars to shorten their business hours, while the metropolitan governmnent did so.

In Chiba Prefecture, another neighbor of Tokyo, Governor Kensaku Morita stressed that he does not plan on making a business suspension request.

"We can't do the same thing" as Tokyo, he said.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency covering Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba and three other prefectures.

JIJI Press