Japan Enters New State of Emergency; Anime Delays Likely to Follow

Today, Japan has been subjected two its second State of Emergency due to the ongoing pandemic. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the sweeping move which asks all citizens to stay home and forego any unnecessary travel.

According to Nikkei, this decision came to light after Japan was impacted by a sharp surge in COVID-19 infections. The daily cases for today marked a record for the nation at 2,447. Last month, the record for daily cases crossed 1,000 for the first time, so public officials say they are rightly alarmed by the spike.

"I promise to turn the situation around within a month," Suga told the public regarding the COVID-19 surge.

If you enjoy anime, this State of Emergency could very well mean some delays are in store. When Japan entered its first State of Emergency last spring due to the pandemic, a slew of films and TV shows were delayed. Both seasonal and annual anime TV series were forced into hiatuses due to disrupted production schedules. As for film, a host of films such as Pokemon Coco were pushed back to given theaters an opportunity to reopen safely. At this point, there is no word on any delays for 2021, but any anime movie slated to debut in January is suspect at best.

From Evangelion's new film to Gintama: The Final, these movies were set to debut this month. This State of Emergency may not close theaters entirely, but the order's strict guidelines may make fans think twice before going to a movie. This means these films may very well be pushed back until later in the year, but for now, fans will just have to wait and see.

What do make of this new order? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below: