After lifting the state of emergency for a few of its prefectures, Japan has now lifted the state of emergency across all areas of the country following the impact of the new COVID-19 disease. According to a report from NHK World, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has officially confirmed the state of emergency will be lifting from the final few prefectures in the country and thus will effectively lift it for the entire country. This is earlier than the initially scheduled lift on May 31st, but Abe has confirmed that there will still be firm guidelines in place.
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Noting that COVID-19 disease has yet to be completely dissolved, Abe urges citizens to continue their proper social distancing and quarantine practices for the time being. Meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide, Health Minister Kato Katsunobu and Economic Revitalization Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, they concluded that infections have decreased and their overall medical capacity was improved.
With this lift, the final prefectures of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Hyogo, and Hokkaido are no longer in a state of emergency. First declared on April 7th, the state of emergency was then extended from its original plan of mid-May to the end of the month. But now that’s no longer going to be an issue as Japan prepares to resume its operations once more.
It is currently unclear how this will be impacting anime productions as Japan currently has a plan in place to roll out its operations in waves. Various industries will be resuming their business, but it’s going to be a slow process as Japan continues to adjust to working within the current confines of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Many anime have been delayed during these past few weeks, but there are still just as many planning to debut this Summer. Although some of those premieres have been halted for now, there are a few anime projects that are seemingly resuming their work as staff and cast use either remote work arounds or other techniques during this time.
The process will be a slow one, but this is a good sign that things are at least improving in some parts of the world for now! Are you excited to see that Japan has lifted its state of emergency? Which anime are you most excited to see again when the ball finally gets rolling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
