Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga attends a banquet for newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito, hosted by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie, at a hotel in Tokyo, Japan October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool

TOKYO: The Japanese government said on Friday (Mar 27) there was no need now to declare a state of emergency, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the previous day described the coronavirus as a "national crisis" following a surge of cases in Tokyo.