is too little, too late

[GoodTaste]

I don't understand "is too little, too late" - does it mean "a state of emergency is too little, too late"? I don't get it (what is a state is too little?) either.

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The New York Times 38m:
For months, Japan has confounded the world with its coronavirus response. Now, as its largest cities experience a rise in cases, medical experts wonder whether a state of emergency has come just in time, or is too little, too late.

 

[GoodTaste]

It is the state of emergency that has just been declared that is too little, too late.

The state is too little? What does it mean? Does it mean "the state is too small scaled"?

 

[jutfrank]

The measures that come with being in a state of emergency are too little, too late.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The state is too little?


What does it mean? Does it mean "the state is too small scaled"?

In that sentence, state means condition, status. What state is it in? What is its status? It's in a state of emergency.

Too little, too late means not enough and not soon enough.

The country didn't declare that there was an emergency soon enough (it acted too late), and its action was not strong enough (it did too little).

 

[SoothingDave]

"Too little, too late" is a fixed expression. As CB said above, one didn't act soon enough and didn't have a strong response.