Crowds of commuters were seen Monday in Tokyo and some urban areas under the third coronavirus state of emergency despite the government's calls for companies to implement remote working to curb the spread of the virus.

Commuters wearing face masks filled the crosswalks in the Marunouchi major business district in the capital, which was placed under the emergency on Sunday along with the western Japan prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo.

People wearing face masks walk near JR Tokyo Station in the Japanese capital on April 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

"It is impossible for me to not come to my office because I work as a receptionist at a company," said a 53-year-old woman who commuted from Yokohama, despite a request by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike that people refrain from coming to the capital as much as possible.

"The train was as crowded as before the state of emergency was declared," she said in the morning, before the Tokyo metropolitan government reported 425 additional infections later in the day.

The single-day nationwide tally of new cases reported Monday stood at some 3,300, with the cumulative death toll from COVID-19 in the country surpassing 10,000.

The emergency declaration will be effective for the four prefectures for 17 days through May 11 in a bid to stem infections during the upcoming Golden Week holidays from late April to early May.

In addition to current measures implemented to counter the spread of the virus, Japan's top government spokesman on Monday vowed to tackle a double mutant variant of the novel coronavirus, of which 21 cases have been confirmed in the country, up from five as of Thursday.

"We want to take thorough necessary measures, including strengthening border controls and monitoring steps," Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters. The variant, discovered in India, has the features of two different coronavirus mutations and may be highly contagious.

Before 8 a.m. near JR Osaka Station, students queued for buses, while there was no reduction in the number of people in office attire, despite the daily additional cases in the prefecture persisting at more than 1,000 in recent days.

People wearing face masks are seen near JR Osaka Station in the western Japan city on April 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

Osaka Prefecture logged 924 new coronavirus cases and 15 deaths, both the highest numbers reported on Monday in the nation's 47 prefectures.

"It seems busy as usual," said Takeshi Yamada, a 23-year-old company employee from Kyoto as he looked around.

University campuses, however, were deserted with many classes switched to online.

"There was a class that might have been held in person from May but given the circumstances that may be difficult. It's disappointing," said a male senior student at Meiji University who came to the library at the university's campus in Tokyo.

In Kyoto, the prefectural government has asked universities to limit the entry of students to 50 percent or less.

At a quiet Kyoto Sangyo University campus, a third-year female student said, "Compared to usual times, it seems only 10 percent of students are here. During the state of emergency, all of my classes are held online. It's boring."

Under the tougher measures implemented under the third state of emergency, large commercial facilities, theme parks, movie theaters, karaoke establishments and restaurants serving alcohol have been asked to close.

Sports events are to be held without spectators, while department stores in the designated areas are only selling food and other daily essentials.


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