“We are moving quickly to deliver cash to all people,” Abe said in a televised news conference to explain his decision to expand a state of emergency nationwide.
An initial plan to provide three times that amount to households, which have seen incomes slashed because of the coronavirus, was ditched and Abe apologised for the confusion.
A supplementary budget had detailed payouts of 300,000 yen to households with incomes hit by the outbreak, but pressure mounted on Abe, some from within his own party, to step up the help with a payment of 100,000 yen for all citizens.
Such a switch would triple the cost to the government to 12 trillion yen. Earlier, Finance Minister Taro Aso said the government hoped to start payments in May.
Japan has seen relatively few cases and deaths compared to hotspots in Europe and the United States but a recent spike in Tokyo – which logged a daily record 201 new cases on Friday – has sparked concern.
Friday’s additions bring the number of cases in the capital city to 2,796, making it the worst-hit in Japan. Total infections across the country stand at more than 9,000, with 190 deaths, according to a tally by national broadcaster NHK.
Japan’s Cabinet Office, which helps to coordinate policy, reported its third case of an official testing positive for the virus. The victim, who was not identified, is in his 50s and works on the council for science, technology and innovation.
He was confirmed to have the virus on Thursday, an official said. No ministers had been in close contact, usually defined as within two metres, since the man showed symptoms on Apr 10, the official said, meaning they were not candidates for testing.
Two officials who had come within two metres of him were staying at home, the Cabinet office said, adding that both have yet to be tested.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Abe initially declared a state of emergency in seven regions of the country but expanded this on Thursday to include the entire country.
He said this decision was taken in a bid to restrict domestic travel during the Golden Week holidays in late April and early May, when many Japanese leave cities to visit family elsewhere.
The state of emergency hands regional governors the power to demand people stay indoors but stops far short of restrictions seen elsewhere as there is punishment for transgression.
Abe said authorities would reassess the situation on May 6 at the end of the public holiday, saying: “If we can all refrain from going out, we can drastically reduce the number of patients in two weeks.”
“The future depends on our behaviour,” said the prime minister, saying his goal for everyone to reduce social contact by at least 70 per cent was not yet being achieved.
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
The Japanese economy was heading for recession even before the coronavirus crisis, contracting by 1.8 per cent in the final quarter of last year.
Since then, tourism has dropped by as much as 90 per cent, industry and trade have ground to a halt and the virus forced the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that was seen providing a boost to the economy.
Last month, Abe unveiled a package of stimulus measures worth around $1 trillion to protect jobs, bolster the medical sector and ease the pain for working families.
A delivery of two masks to each household also began on Friday, although the move has been greeted with much derision online.
