TOKYO (REUTERS) - Tokyo recorded 144 coronavirus infections on Wednesday (April 8), its biggest daily jump since the start of the pandemic, the city's governor Yuriko Koike said, on the first day of a state of emergency aimed at containing the outbreak.
Total infections in the Japanese capital stand at 1,339, Ms Koike said, for an increase that would carry the nationwide tally beyond to 4,768, according to an evening report by public broadcaster NHK.
Deaths in Japan as of Wednesday morning stood at 98, said the NHK.
The number of infections is still far smaller than in many European countries and the United States, but a steady rise in some areas prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare the emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and five other hard-hit prefectures.
A day after it was announced, commuters heading to work packed into trains in Tokyo, with some expressing confusion over how best to restrict their movements.
"It's unavoidable that people have to come out for work,"said Ms Risa Tanaka, an office worker wearing a mask near the Shinjuku station, who said she usually tried to work at home, but had stepped out to deliver some documents.
"I don't know if the emergency declaration is enough, but... the important thing for us to do is to keep a distance from other people, wash our hands and not spread the virus around by coughing."
The scenes in Tokyo contrasted with measures across Europe enforced by police patrolling the streets and also through the use of drones in some countries, such as Britain and France.
French residents have had to sign and carry an official form justifying their presence outside homes and face stiff penalties for breaches.
Despite some accusations of heavy-handed policing, the enforcement has largely succeeded, leading to bare city streets and the effective shutdown of much of Europe's local economies, though some flouting has included barbecue gatherings in parks.
Japan's month-long state of emergency gives regional governors more power to press businesses to close, but will add to pains the virus has inflicted on the world's third-largest economy from supply chain disruptions and travel bans.
At major hubs, such as Shinjuku, Shibuya and Tokyo in the capital, many commuters not equipped to work from home stuck to business as usual, though trains and streets were less crowded than a week ago.
"We've reduced the number of in-office workers by half, but we are still rotating to go into work," said a commuter, Ms Chihiro Kakegawa, an employee of a financial institution near the Tokyo station, adding that it freed her from going into work everyday.
With Ms Koike expected to announce only on Friday what categories of businesses will have to shut, many shops and businesses have been left to decide on their own for now.
Department stores, karaoke parlours and other non-essential businesses, including some, such as coffee chain Starbucks, have already said they would close for the time being.
With an eye on the economy, Mr Abe has sought a cut of 70 per cent to 80 per cent in contacts among people in the seven regions, leaving plenty of wiggle room for defiance of the request to stay home.
Train schedules of the East Japan Railway Co, which services the capital and surrounding areas, remain unchanged, with operations running as normal.
"I don't think the reduction is anywhere near the 70 or 80 pe rcent Abe is aiming for," said Mr Yoshihiko Furusawa, 43, as he watched pedestrians near the Shinjuku ward office where he works.
"I think the important point is to stop people going to bars after work."
The government did not provide detailed train usage data for the first day of the emergency, but it said use of the Yamanote line, one of the busiest train lines that circles Tokyo, was down 40 per cent on weekdays in recent weeks.
It said the number of passengers on some subway lines was down by about a third for the similar period.
