After hearing about it for quite some time, Prime Minister Abe has finally declared several prefectures to be in a state of emergency. Reading from several articles, they can "request" selected businesses to close, and "request" people not to go out, but they can't force people as opposed to what's happening in other countries like Europe. Judging from how most companies are dealing with it though, it seems that businesses in Japan are quite responsible and are the first to take initiative to order their staff to work from home, and give full support to send PCs back, ensure there is sufficient internet connection, etc. At least that’s how it is for my company.
It’s said to last until golden week (May 6) but I don’t think we can go back to office immediately after it ends. It’s tough for businesses, for parents who work and at the same time need to homeschool or just even watch after young babies, but if we don’t take these drastic measures, it will be much worse for everyone.
Hopefully a vaccine will be discovered and implemented at a much earlier time than expected...