The situation over the coronavirus outbreak in Japan is becoming "very tense," Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Sunday, referring to the possibility of the government declaring a state of emergency over the virus crisis.

The key to a decision on a state of emergency declaration is whether the outbreak is spreading almost across the country, he said in a television program.

Japan's revised special law on the fight against new influenza was enacted last month to cover the novel coronavirus, believed to have originated in China, allowing the government to declare a state of emergency over the ongoing virus crisis.

Once a declaration is made, prefectural governors will be authorized to take strong measures that could limit private rights.

A state of emergency, if declared, "will be a a big message to young people," Nishimura said, urging them not to travel to the countryside from large cities, such as Tokyo and Osaka, western Japan, where infections are spreading.

If young people go to regional areas from Tokyo or Osaka, they could spread the virus in the countryside, possibly leading to a dire situation, he said. "I want (young people) to make a level-headed decision," Nishimura added.

There have been concerns that young people could become a source of infection because many of them are believed to show little or no symptoms even if they get the novel coronavirus.

In a separate TV program on Sunday, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said that the government is asked to declare a state of emergency "as soon as possible."

In the same TV program, health minister Katsunobu Kato said, "It is necessary to maximize the effects (of a state of emergency declaration) while minimizing the impacts on the economy and society."

JIJI English