Japan school closure plan stuns parents, officials

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on Feb 27, asked all elementary, middle and high schools nationwide to close until late March from March 2 to help control the spread of the new virus in the country. - AP

TOKYO (AFP): The Japanese government's abrupt call for schools nationwide to close over the coronavirus outbreak has caught parents and administrators off-guard, prompting criticism even as some experts defended the move.

On Thursday (Feb 27) night, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he would ask primary, junior high and high schools to shut their doors for around a month, though nurseries and after-school clubs are exempt.

The government cannot order schools to shut, a power that belongs to local councils, but authorities in many regions said they were neither consulted nor warned about the decision.

"This is shocking news," tweeted Toshihito Kumagai, mayor of the city of Chiba, east of Tokyo.

"How will parents who are medical workers or doing other jobs that support society manage? Society could collapse."

And Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura tweeted that he was "stunned" by the "sudden decision", though he expressed some understanding for the move.

"All of Japan has to deal with this infectious disease," he added.

"It must be Prime Minister Abe's strong determination and he will take responsibility."

The government's decision comes as it ramps up its response to the virus, which has so far infected nearly 200 people across the country and been linked to four deaths.

Authorities say the coming two to three weeks will be crucial in determining whether the outbreak can be contained, a major concern particularly for Japan in the run-up to the Olympics, which open in Tokyo in July.

"This decision is a particularly drastic step for the central government to take," said Tobias Harris of Teneo Consultancy.

It was "not mentioned in the basic policy adopted Tuesday, and appears to go beyond what the government's own experts were recommending," he added in a note.

But some experts have recommended closures, with one member of the government panel previously pointing to smaller-scale school closures that he said helped contain a new flu outbreak in 2009.

Among many parents, there was a sense of panic, and anger that the closure would be so long.

One Twitter user slammed "how incompetent this country's government is".

"They promoted the idea of double-income families and then this, without providing ways to be absent from work."

But others were more understanding of the move by the government, which was previously under attack for a relatively hands-off approach to the virus.

"It's 'war' against the new coronavirus," one Twitter user wrote.

"As it's an emergency and a major disaster, we have to act with the maximum sense of crisis." - AFP