TOKYO: Japan's House of Representatives voted Thursday for a bill to allow the government to declare a state of emergency in the fight against the new coronavirus.

The bill was approved by a majority vote at a plenary meeting of the Lower House. Both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan supported it.

The ruling coalition aims to get the bill, which will revise an existing special law on responses to new types of influenza, through the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of parliament, on Friday for its enactment.

The revised law is expected to be implemented as early as Saturday, with the COVID-19 virus added to its coverage.

Under the revised law, the government is allowed to declare a state of emergency for specific areas and a period if it finds that a rapid spread of the coronavirus across the country could have a major impact on people's daily lives.

The emergency declaration would allow the governors of affected prefectures to request people to refrain from leaving their homes, demand restrictions on the use of mass-gathering facilities including movie theaters, and use properties without the consent of their owners to set up temporary medical facilities.

JIJI Press