Japan widens stay-at-home plea to entire country

The Japanese government has widened its call for citizens to stay home to the entire country, coming on reports that as many as 400,000 could die there without more urgent action.

Olivia Chan reports

The Japanese government has widened its call for citizens to stay home to the entire country, coming on reports that as many as 400,000 could die there without more urgent action.

The number comes from an internal government estimate reportedly obtained by local media.

Japan had originally declared a state of emergency in only Tokyo and six other districts.

There are no fines or penalties in place to force compliance either, but the government said citizens should do everything in their power to limit interactions with others by 70%.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also coming under new pressure to pay out more cash to soften the economic blow of COVID-19.

The government has already announced a $1 trillion stimulus package last week.

But Abe's political partners are calling for a blanket payment of over $930 to every citizen.

As of Wednesday (April 15) Japan had suffered about 200 deaths.