Japan to lose trillions of yen in consumption with virus emergency

A monthlong state of emergency planned by the Japanese government to contain a resurgence of novel coronavirus infections is expected to knock trillions of yen off private consumption, with some economists predicting the economy will return to contraction. Expected economic impacts of a state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, which the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is considering declaring on Thursday, will likely be smaller than those seen after the first emergency declaration in April last year in Tokyo and six prefectures. People wearing face masks walk on a street in Tokyo's Harajuku area on Jan. 4, 2021, amid the...