Japan's Diet gives Abe power to declare emergency amid viral fears

Japan enacted a time-limited legal change on Friday, enabling Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, if he deems it necessary, to declare a state of emergency to cope with the spread of the new coronavirus.After only three days of deliberations, parliament gave such authority to Abe, who has for weeks come under fire for being slow to act to contain COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, with just over four months until the start of the Tokyo Olympics.The swift reworking of the legal framework is intended to prepare for a worst-case scenario but has still raised concerns that bolder preventive step…READ FULL ARTICLE