COVID-19 restrictions on U.S. forces personnel in Japan to end Monday

Personnel with symptoms, should be tested for Covid-19, before entering public areas . . . https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Come on now @Fighto! 8:33pm Japan never enforced curfews nor lockdowns for any of her citizens in 3 years and Japan’s experienced 6 waves of infections.

For the others here, let’s acknowledge Japan’s first ‘publicized’ case of Omicron was Dec 17, 2021 in Tokyo with a Japanese national who broke quarantine immediately to entertain a visit from a boyfriend. He later infected his family and attended a soccer event.

Subsequent to the U.S. admitting their lax procedures in months prior to the surge in Okinawa & Yamaguchi, PM Kishida stressed it was impossible at that stage to determine specific origins of the current Omicron surge . . .

. . . despite Okinawa’s Gov Denny wanting to point ‘solely’ at U.S. military.

To any AUKUS service members in the region reading JT,

“*Thank you for your services**, worldwide.” (Many here* sleep well knowing your around.)

US forces are NOT the sole reason Omicron is spreading in Japan. US forces are tested more often than Japanese. They also get locked down unlike Japanese. Maybe Japan should be locked down like US Forces are, and see how they like it.

You are right. It is not just military personnel. It is also all those SOFA visa holders who live off base but got to go in and out of Japan and did not adhere to the other requirements that Japanese and non-Japanese foreign residents had to follow. No staying in a hotel for two weeks. No finding and paying for their own transportation to and from airports. Riding on public transportation like it was no big deal. Acting Americans by taking off their masks whenever they felt it was safe for them (not the others around them).

Frankly, if military members and SOFA visa holders want to travel outside Japan, they should’ve used military aircraft, flown between bases and quarantined on base for 2 weeks. Instead Japan in its naivety believed the off-base SOFA VISA residents would observe the rules. I saw no such behavior among the few individuals I know. Their lack of empathy and false sense of entitlement has been astounding.

@zurcronium "There is no reason Japan needs the USA military in the country any longer. "

How many missiles have been lobbed in the Sea of Japan in the last week alone? The only thing keeping Japan status quo is the US military presence

Sounds reasonable: the curfew ends, everyone still required to where masks on & off base.

- “The restrictive measures, limiting the movement of U.S. personnel outside military facilities to essential activities and a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., will end on Mon, but the obligation to wear a mask on and off base will be maintained.” -

If the US forces in Japan had any sense of responsibility, they'd refrain from doing in Japan what Americans have been doing in the US for two years. Spreading virus.

Stay. On. Base.

@jexan Japan doesn't glorify military personnel such as the US., perhaps because it doesn't involve itself in so many military situations and due to its militaristic past. Japan is a xenophobic country? Where do YOU live? No country is perfect but at least the Japanese treat foreigners kindly. You have to understand that Japan is a mono ethnic country. They are not accustomed to meeting foreigners, especially with non-asian features, hence their nervousness. But once they get to know you, and you show them proper respect, they can be the friendliest people. Also, speaking of xenophobia, look at the US and Britain. Racism and Karens galore!

Cue the anti US bases comments.......

Omicron in Japan took off around USA military bases as the incoming soldiers were not tested and allowed into the country without any safety measures. With borders in total lockdown for non-citizens and long quarantines Japan was doing its best to stop the spread of disease but they let the USA military for some reason flout all the rules that the rest of us had to carry out. Boom, Omicron started community spread around the bases and now people are getting sick and in some cases dying. Japan and the USA military has blood on its hands no question.

There is no reason Japan needs the USA military in the country any longer. This stopped making sense decades ago. Okinawa would be far better off without the USA military on the islands. Same for Korea and the hundreds of other countries around the world that have useless USA bases.

We'll see cases spike again then.

zurcronium

Amen. And thanks!