The Japanese government will provide JPY400,000 to small firms hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic, Finance Minister Taro Aso said in a statement on Tuesday. Additional quotes “Asking restaurants to close early due to higher COVID-19 risk. “ “Not considering adjusting existing budgets so far.” Earlier today, Kyodo News Agency reported that Japan is considering an emergency for Aichi, Gifu prefectures after declaring a state of emergency for Tokyo and three other regions last week. Market reaction USD/JPY is trading close to daily highs of 104.31 on the above comments, almost unchanged on the day. (full story)