Журнал. World association for medical law. The COVID-19 pandemic. Volume 39 2

242 Medicine and Law Keywords: COVID-19; Japanese Government Policy; Outing Restriction by Request; Limiting PCR Testing; Passengers on a Cruise Ship; Lack of Medical Materials; Appropriate Judgement 1. INTRODUCTION On January 16 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in Japan was a man with Chinese nationality who travelled toWuhan. Since then, the number of infected cases has continued to increase and the prime minister issued the Declaration 1 of a State of Emergency on April 7. Although it continued to increase, the number of infected cases, per day, reached the maximum (720 cases) on April 11 and has decreased since then. On May 24, there were 42 cases. On May 25, the Declaration was lifted in all prefectures, as it was deemed that the emergency measure was no longer necessary. Clusters of COVID-19 have since occurred in several areas, hinting at a second wave. The COVID-19 issue has a huge impact, not only on industry and economy, but also on education, sports, arts and research fields. The traditional social life is under pressure of change. The features of the Japanese government’s measures 2 against COVID-19 are: outlining restriction by request, not by order; limiting polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing; and responding to passengers on a cruise ship(s) at an early stage. This article mainly examines the government’s countermeasures against COVID-19, related to medical care, human rights and law. 2. Regarding Laws and Regulations-Restrictions on going out by Request On February 7, the government designated COVID-19 as an infectious disease, in accordance with Article 6 of the Act on Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Medical Care for Patients with Infectious Diseases (Act No. 114 of 1998. Infectious Disease Act) 3 . Governmental regulations have added restrictions to access buildings, blockades, traffic restrictions, quarantine and progress reports by prefectures. The amendment of the Special Measures Law against New Influenza, 4 (hereinafter referred to as the Special Measures Law) was enacted on March 13 and became effective from May 14. It was also applied to COVID-19 and it became possible to issue an emergency declaration. The authority, to issue actual requests and instructions, lies with the prefectural governor in the area where the emergency declaration was issued. This declaration is made only