Japan's daily COVID-19 cases top 30,000, setting new record

With Omicron now widely circulating throughout Japan, the continuation of preventing foreigners from entering the country is no longer a health measure, but clearly political point-scoring. Kishida and the LDP punishing foreign students, workers and family of Japanese nationals for popularity's sake is a disgrace, but sadly not a surprise.

We saw a huge Omicron wave in SA with no corresponding increase in serious cases and deaths. We saw the exact same thing in the UK and Denmark - everyone freaking out about it, only to be talking about lifting restrictions just a few weeks later because they realised that serious cases and deaths were not increasing significantly. Why would anybody expect it to be any different here?

Not sure how Osaka can have more than Tokyo, but there it is.

This is extremely good news because the Okinawan people suffer hardship from the US military occupying force.

FYI, dont talk like you know how things are here, as this statement here could only be said by someone who has never actually been here!

No one in Okinawa is "suffering hardship" because of the US military, and your condescending attitude is NOT appreciated at all!

@foreigner in Tokyo

Have you tried to get tested recently? It’s really rather simple. My daughter had the sniffles last week and her doctor ordered PCRs for everyone in our house, no problems.

what you’re saying may have been true at the beginning of the pandemic but it’s a different situation now

Foreigner in Tokyo:

Simple: Tokyo refuses to do adequate testing.

I just came back from my home country. A relative gave me a packet of several antigen test kits. They were free.

People on here complain about the numbers being tested but that doesn't change the number of deaths.

It seems Okinawa is receding. Good news.

Right a jump of nearly 1,000 cases in a day! I guess you dont really follow along with how things are here with reporting cases on a daily basis.

Monday's will ALWAYS have less cases as testing centers, not all, but many, are closed on Sundays. Some Saturday's too, so Sunday and Monday typically have less cases reported.

There are literally still thousands waiting for testing here in Okinawa. Okinawa is only capable of testing around 20,000 per day throughout the entire prefecture but that number is misleading because of the locations of the testing centers. In the populated areas the tests are still backed up, and the earliest many can even get a test is early next month.

People are not going to drive for an hour or two, just to wait in line for a test, at a center that may have an opening. Hence not a full 20,000 are being tested per day.

Okinawa is hardling receding yet, and still could go up even more, according to local sources.

Has Kishida checked to make sure Omicron isn't entering the country via Canadian mail? They could be missing out on another scientific breakthrough and scapegoat!

This has more to do with more tests are being done due to free testing by the government including drive-thru test centers. More tests raises the possibility of more people with the virus being detected.

Brings back memories of the Tokyo Olympics except at that time the borders were wide open for tens of thousands of visitors who were allowed to bypass normal safety protocols.

Okinawa was 1596 cases last Friday, hence the plunge.

Wow, cherry picking data! Did you see Friday's number... 1,829 a new record high for here.

You have ZERO idea what you are talking about and are just trying, really badly I might say, to stir something up!

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/data/pref/okinawa.html

Why are we worried about the number of cases? Surely all that matters is the number of deaths - which I notice is not even mentioned!! Given that only 7 people were even hospitalised in Tokyo, the number of deaths is presumably even more insignificant. So I really don't understand why anyone even cares about this disease anymore.

Not sure how Osaka can have more than Tokyo, but there it is.

In my quick observation on the streets, there have recently formed long queues for free testing downtown Osaka. Oddly enough most look quite healthy, younger and cheerful while it's pretty cold daytime and social distance rule is often breached. Out there, they must be imposed to infection risks.

Osaka is more active on and accountable for testing policy than Tokyo. But I'd suggest the delivery of test kit to all its residents instead of establishing testing centres.

Not sure how Osaka can have more than Tokyo, but there it is.

Ever been to Osaka? The people there are really friendly and like to eat, drink and have a great time!

Rather easy to understand why!

Wow! They need to make a decision… about measures that have little or no effect on the citizens. It’s like… I need to make a decision if I’m going to eat a sandwich with strawberry or quasi-strawberry jam (it’s actually raspberry).

Well it's a good thing they're moving quickly with the boosters.

From the beginning of December to today, a grand total of 1.5 million boosters have been administered.

students, drunk out of their minds, sitting on the ground outside office buildings

So even drunk, Japanese youngsters minimise airborne infection risks by spending a lot of time in open air. This might explain some of the Japan's relative immunity to various coronavirus strains

indeed. Lot of sense! Thanks to our selfishness, death per million pop in Japan has been a fraction that of the UK.

@hattorikun

Ah, but the UK never professed such ridiculous things as immunity to the virus, or having different genetic makeup, or put bans on foreigners entering the country for no reason.

The Japanese have tried to look whiter than white during this pandemic, somewhat claiming the virus to be a 'foreign problem'.

It just isn't true, so yes, the Japanese have been selfish. They've behaved just as badly as anyone.

“Not sure why some of you keep bringing up testing.”

coz that’s just how much they can think of these days.

A quasi state of emergency for a not so quasi pandemic.

I thought anti-vaxxers said you have nothing to worry if you're young and health.

Over reaction as always. Why do coffee shops have no restrictions ?

The politicians here are clowns and are lucky they rule over a passive electorate. In any other country they would have been run out of office by now.

Cases will only go as high as the number of tests allow and Japan will soon reach a cap of how many tests it can handle. Do not want to spoil the Japanese miracle of immunity to COVID. meanwhile the PM today on the NHK new was rather flustered. Clearly new records in the number of case is it making it tough for his empty words, which he had more of, consulting experts, more meetings, quasi emergencies but with flexibility for the governors but no mention of boosters. The rest of the news showed already problems in place with lack of staff staying home to quarantines for 14 days, soon 10, to quarantine a close contacts ( not even tested) and waiting lists again for hospitals to be filled with patients who may not really need to be in hospital taking up beds from those who may really need to be there, The governor of Chibas was also there a voice of dissent saying he is not going to ban alcohol and go his own way. People of Tokyo can just go there to drink in open bars and restaurants. Business will be good in Chiba.

It will all be over in 5 weeks and 5 days!

Not sure why some of you keep bringing up testing. Go get tested if you so please. Nobody is stopping you.

students, drunk out of their minds, sitting on the ground outside office buildings

Any indoor drinking spaces should still use HEPA air filtration. Even if symptomatically mild, a steep wave of infections may get difficult to handle

I thought anti-vaxxers said you have nothing to worry if you're young and health.

That's right, they have nothing to worry about. They'll test positive, but they'll be fine.

waiting for 40k per day and end of it

“Maybe getting more boosters available will do the trick this time.”

hmm. I am still vaxx free

I don't believe it.

Booyah! (mike drop, exits the stage) *@Reckless 5:39pm: “**Tokyo has an absolute MAX of 25,000 PCR tests in a day. Thus, unless there is 100% positivity, we will never see near that many cases reported from Tokyo*”-

“They've behaved just as badly as anyone.”

so what is your problem?

“ professed such ridiculous things as immunity to the virus, or having different genetic makeup, or put bans on foreigners entering the country for no reason.”

all these ridiculous things have been sticker to Japan… I don’t think we have professed that. Who cares? I don’t. And bans on foreigners… all non essentials are banned no or discouraged. We don’t have to do what others are doing. Also as you said, again, coz we are as bad as anyone… then what’s spooked you? Am happy if certain measures here, maybe they are bad for you, keep our countrymen relatively safer than many less unfortunate folks out there throughout this pandemic.

Japan has a real problem with the selfishness of younger people

@Foreigner In Tokyo

You speak alot of sense. I kind of expected such behaviour in the UK, unfortunately, but not in Japan. People here have been selfish throughout the whole pandemic.

“You speak alot of sense. I kind of expected such behaviour in the UK, unfortunately, but not in Japan. People here have been selfish throughout the whole pandemic.”

indeed. Lot of sense! Thanks to our selfishness, death per million pop in Japan has been a fraction that of the UK.

Just get ready to catch Omicron, and your immunity will be up

It will ave peaked shortly and be over soon as I did in other countries. I will continue with my usual day to day activities,whilst taking sensible precautions of course

OMG that is 30,000 people who are unvaccinated. They should of gotten the jabs. As for Tokyo we know they don’t test like Osaka because the numbers would be astronomical.

Stop calling it COVID-19. It's Omicron, a serious flu. Not the original made-in-China plague. And open up travel without testing and quarantines. It's getting beyond pathetic how fearful most people have become.

“Tokyo has an absolute MAX of 25,000 PCR tests in a day. “

That’s not true. Capacity for Tokyo is 100K/day.

@Thomas Goodtime

They've behaved so badly that they have the least death out of all G7 countries.

Only other asian countries are comparable to them, whiter than white indeed.

It seems Okinawa is receding.

Good news.

Don’t underestimate it or downplay. Your only lucky in the debate about lower death tolls because all those vulnerable are already dead and won’t die in this wave again.

@Yubaru

https://japantoday.com/category/national/Tokyo-reports-4-051-new-coronavirus-cases-1-596-in-Okinawa

Okinawa was 1596 cases last Friday, hence the plunge.

This is extremely good news because the Okinawan people suffer hardship from the US military occupying force.