With the increase of COVID-19 infections at an alarming rate, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for the greater Tokyo region. The emergency will take effect starting today till the 7th of February.

Being the second 'emergency state' following the nation-wide lockdown in April, no punishment for the violaters have been issued yet. The citizens are simply asked to avoid unnecessary gatherings, esp. at night. Restaurants and bars have been asked to cease the trade of alcoholic drinks as the night falls. Online trade, however, isn't restricted.

The push for emergency state came largely from the governors of Tokyo and medical experts. Several medical groups had already declared 'emergency state' on their own.

"The collapse of the health care system is a reality, all over Japan," Toshio Nakagawa, head of the Japan Medical Association, one of the nine groups, told a media briefing on Wednesday.

Despite all of this, the emergency state won't be effective enough to keep the virus under control, some say.