Apr 21 (NHK) - Outings in major cities across Japan declined on the first Sunday since the government expanded the state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic to cover the entire nation. But the decrease differed from area to area.
Cell phone carrier NTT Docomo released data from its base stations without identifying the users.
The data shows that as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, the numbers of people out in major areas of Tokyo and 6 other prefectures were at least 70 percent lower than the average for weekends and public holidays over the one-month period from mid-January.
The state of emergency was initially declared for the 7 prefectures.
Outings decreased most in areas around Osaka's Umeda district, falling 86.9 percent. This was followed by areas around Shinjuku, Tokyo, with a 79.9-percent drop and areas around Tenjin in Fukuoka Prefecture with a fall of 77.7 percent.
There was a difference in the declines in 6 other prefectures that were later added to the government's list of prefectures on the highest alert.
The numbers of people out in areas around Nagoya Station in Aichi Prefecture, Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture, and Kyoto Station fell more than 70 percent.
But the figures for areas around Mito Station in Ibaraki and Gifu Station dropped by only 55.9 percent. Outings dropped 40.6 percent around Hiroshima Station and 28.4 percent around Matsuyama Station in Ehime.
