page_title: Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
section_title: April
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan / Timeline / Second wave (March–present) / April
caption_attribution_description: English: Shibuya Crossing (Tokyo, Japan) under the state of emergency for coronavirus pandemic 日本語: 渋谷スクランブル交差点 新型コロナウィルスの流行を受けた緊急事態宣言により、日曜日の昼間だが人出が少ない。
context_page_description: The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
context_section_description: On 1 April, The government established Wednesday a team within the secretariat of the National Security Council tasked with crafting Japan's strategic response to the coronavirus crisis while improving its competitiveness in the technology and economic spheres. Specifically, the team is planned to focus on overcoming the novel coronavirus epidemic as well as driving Japan's development in the fields of artificial intelligence and 5G wireless, especially in the face of the United States' and China's race for supremacy in the technologies.
  The Immigration Services Agency of Japan said Friday it will extend for three months the deadline for foreigners to renew their period of stay in a bid to alleviate congestion at immigration counters amid the coronavirus outbreak. At present, immigration counters nationwide are crowded with foreigners, including short-term stayers, who are applying for extensions of their stay in Japan, with some of them unable to return home due to tighter border control across the globe.
  On 3 April, Japan expanded its entry ban, effectively barring entrance to the country for visitors from 73 countries and regions.
  On 4 April, at least 118 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Tokyo on Saturday, the first time the daily increase has topped 100, the metropolitan government said, in a development that could raise pressure on Japan to declare a state of emergency. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been widely seen as cautious about declaring an emergency despite spiking infections in urban areas like Tokyo and Osaka and growing calls from medical experts to do so due to fears the country's health care system could collapse.
  On 6 April, The Tokyo metropolitan government on Monday reported 83 new coronavirus cases following two days of three-digit increases, as it continues to grapple with a recent spike in the number of infections. The metropolitan government planned to begin transferring patients with mild or no symptoms from hospitals to designated hotels and other lodging facilities on Tuesday as it wants to prioritize treatment for patients with severe symptoms.
  On 7 April, Abe proclaimed a state of emergency from 8 April to 6 May for Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka. He also said there would be no lockdown like in other countries, and that public transportation and other services needed to keep the economy and society going would be maintained as much as possible. This was the first emergency declaration in Japan. Abe also stated that the pandemic had created the nation's greatest economic crisis since the end of World War II.
  On 8 April, Tokyo confirmed 144 new coronavirus infections Wednesday, a record daily high, metropolitan government officials said. Of the 144 infections confirmed Wednesday, 95, or more than 60 percent, had no clear infection routes, the officials said. The total number of infections confirmed in Tokyo now stands at 1,338, with 1,231 people hospitalized and 35 deaths from the pneumonia-causing virus as of Tuesday evening.
  On 9 April, Kiminobu Okada (岡田公伸), an executive of Mainichi Broadcasting System in Osaka, died due to coronavirus in Nishinomiya.
  On 10 April, Nippon Professional Baseball and the pro soccer J-League on Friday abandoned plans to play in April, while declining to say when their coronavirus pandemic-affected seasons could resume. Prior to their internal meetings on Friday, NPB executives and their J-League counterparts met with a panel of medical experts in the fifth sitting of the task force they jointly formed to keep abreast of the health crisis.
  On 11 April, A total of 197 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Tokyo on Saturday, a record daily increase for the fourth straight day, the metropolitan government said. The figure topped the previous record of 189 marked Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the capital to more than 1,900. The latest figure for the pneumonia-causing virus infection in the capital comes as these prefectures entered their first weekend under a state of emergency.
  Narita Inte
caption: Few pedestrians in Shibuya Crossing during the state of emergency
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