Suga's upcoming decision on state of emergency derided as too little, too late

Which citizens?

Another journalist could just as easily write..

a move derided by citizens as too much, too soon,

An easy bias trick, just cherry pick the opinions you count as "citizens"

Well said! talk about using the "royal we"! I don't support this shut down.

Can you explain how doing you best to prevent the spread of the virus is any different of what a S.O.E will accomplish except for business getting financial support ?

I’m a contract worker, who gets no financial help from the government If a SoE is called.

my work will dry up & income drops to zero.

Surely I can’t be the only one

too little, too late

You can say that again! It takes too long for the government to make a decision and it is never able to adapt to changing situation. Reminds me of Titanic, unable to change course...

@Nothernlife

so when you visit the girls bars that you like so much do you keep your mask on?

If you can remember my posts well, then you would remember that I said, "since the start of the pandemic I didn't go there!"

Yes we all are guests here that is not going to change hasn't in the 3 decades I have been here and wont.

I 100 agree with you!

because they will smile to your face and throw the knives as your walking away that just the way it is here..

I can not agree to that.

In all my years in Japan, except sometimes of course, I don't have that feeling.

If I would feel like that way, I would leave Japan.

@kurisupisu...all good, common sense expectations but #3 (enforce spacing at restaurants-some do and some don’t) is impossible for the 1000's of closet-size bars/restaurants that exist in Japan's large cities.

The only way to deal with these establishments would be to require a certain amount of square footage in order to stay open but I doubt that will happen.

@monty

totally agree with your comments.

blame the media for spreading the fear

blame the idiots for spreading the virus

And he hasn’t DECIDED anything!

@William77

I live since many years with my family in Japan...but yes, I am still a Guest.

As long as you are not born here, yes you are a Guest.

And that is not only in Japan, that is everywhere in the world.

But the point is, if a japanese citizen see you on the street behaving in a bad way, does he or she knows how long you are living in Japan? Of course not!

For him or her, you are just the foreigner who behaves badly in a country that allows you to live here.

And of course they will feel bad about your behavior.

And this is the point!

As a foreigner, in japan or wherever in the world, you have to behave well, and in this case here, help to prevent the spread of the virus by behaving well. And that means don't talk on the phone in 7-11 without mask.

What is most urgent to be implemented is maximum possible avoidance of intrusion of those new mutations or variants like B117, 501.V2 and the like, accompanied with strictest isolation measures. That requires also some more earnest testing and quickly done genom sequencing. If that ever fails, we don’t need to discuss here further. If it works, we can also afford to happily drink a beer or two until 8.30 p.m. lol

@Monty

Can you explain how doing you best to prevent the spread of the virus is any different of what a S.O.E will accomplish except for business getting financial support ?

According to you doing your best mean wearing mask, not going to place with lot of people, stay away from people, ...

If everyone do that this men people will not go to shop/restaurant/bar/train/workplace/.... thus the place will lose customer thus income and people will lose job as they will not go there.

The S.O.E by paying business to close/stagger working time/do telework/... will accomplish the same result by going the other way round and protecting several job and business which would not have survived by everyone doing one best personal prevention.

And when I am at it, claiming you want to protect job and business at the same time of requesting border closing destroy your stance. The border closing destroyed and is destroying a lot of jobs and business, you know.

Your problem seems more with government helping small and medium business instead of letting them die silently and slowly.

Chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference the government is working toward a decision on Thursday.

Keep "working" on it boys......meanwhile the virus will keep on eliminating your people while you waste time. I'm sure the RONA will patiently wait for you to come up with a non decision. As usual.

Monty,so according to your thinking if a foreign lives in Japan for decades have a family,children raised in Japan he or she is still a guess??

I’m sorry that there are people like you with such a narrow and nationalistic mindset.

Home is the place where a human settle not necessary it’s birthplace.

@Kurusipisu

Of course I see that, but please read my answer to Marcelito.

And one more point to Nothernlife, about his question what the government should do.

They should remove all the Joggers from the street. They are always running on busy streets where other people HAVE TO USE to go to the work.

And these Joggers are always running without masks and blow their breath directly in other people’s faces.

The government should put them in designed areas for Joggers where they can blow their breath among themselves in their faces.

Pretty sure if I stopped all the locals not wearing masks and complained, well that's my whole day gone. Then there are those who wear their masks under their nose, that's like having your underpants not fully up at the front!

Live your life as you see fit, let others do the same. But try, really try not to inconvenience disparage those around you. It's a society we have to all work together.

@Barto

Therefore I said in my post it is not a fearmongering example.

It is just an example for an idiotic behaviour, which I see hundred of times in Tokyo.

@marcelito

I bring up always the foreigner thing without masks because it is the reality and because 99% of the posters here are foreigners.

I just hope that all the foreign posters here, who are living in Japan, will consider, that before they do nonstop complaining about the japanese citizens and the government, they should first look at their own door!

And we foreigners are guests here! So we should behave like that and we should do everything to support this country to prevent the spread of the virus.

But nonstop complaining is no support at all and that doesnt help anyone.

Japan isn’t in a better situation than the European Union for the Covid.

It is and was the same,with the difference that European governments did massive tests compared to the Japanese government and with number of population half of the one of Japan.

The few tests they do in Japan shows a high percentage of infected and same as in the EU.

The indecision and the will to put corporations above human lives says it all.

@Monty

I see plenty of Japanese guys doing exactly the same thing, don’t you?

@ Northernlife

There are many things that could be done but aren’t.

IMHO

1.In big cities viral transmission flourishes.

So,

1.I would change office working hours and/or stagger working days to reduce commuting on trains or buses.

2.Public and government offices as well as commuting hubs should all have masks and hand sanitizers to give out.

3.Enforce spacing at restaurants-some do and some don’t.

4.Run reinforcing messages on all television networks reminding everyone of sanitation and mask wearing instead of the daily dose of fear at 7pm that is being served up.

5.Have free testing for Corona infections, no questions

Ensure that elderly people receive vitamin supplements over this winter to aid immune systems.

7.Have an experienced virologist with some charisma give advice to the Japanese people on national television every night- not self serving politicians obsessed with their own self images.

This virus could and should be beaten in 2-3 weeks but it is rising.

If any country could defeat it then Japan has the best chance.

@Barto

Let me give you an example of an idiot: (But not for fear mongering one)

Yesterday, I went to a 7-11, a stupid idiot foreigner and his Girlfriend came in to the 7-11 without any mask.

And furthermore the guy start to talk on the phone. And during that he walked around the 7-11 by talking on the phone.

And then, the 7-11 staff complaint to him, and this stupid idiot got upset with the staff.

We can say thank you to such stupid idiots that we are undergoing again in a SOE.

The first lockdown was initiated when Covid spread was at lower levels and moving more slowly. An SOE should have been made much earlier, and it mustn’t be “restaurants only”.

All of these "Dont let fear and the government control you!!" post are pretty funny.

asked residents to refrain from non-essential, non-urgent outings after 8 p.m.

8 pm....that's it. There's you iron fist lockdown.  

If cases rise, could it become a stricter SOE? Sure,  there's no available vaccine right now,  hospitals are pushed to their limits.

Hopefully we'll get the details early on Thursday.

@Nothernlife

So all of you who say there is no need for an SOE please feel free to state what the government should do

The point is not what the government should do. The point is what we should do. We, the people, our behavior according preventions in our daily life.

If people sit at home on the sofa and waiting that the government will decide how they have to live their lifes, you will be completely lost.

I told it already millions of times, YOU are responsible for your life, NOT the government. YOU have to do your best personal prevention.

Dont sit at home on your sofa and wait that the government is telling you what to do.

But to answer your question what the government should do: They should hurry up with the vaccine.

Best selfーprevention and the vaccine are the only solutions to bring the Virus down.

Sitting on the sofa and waiting for a lockdown, SOE or closing bars and restaurants doesnt help anyone.

Spare a thought for those dying untreated at home due to coronavirus.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210106/k10012798701000.html

Insanely radical idea that would completely undo all the hard work J- govt put into minimizing the number of tests & infection numbers so as to keep the cronies Olympic gravy train on track. Will never happen, what do you think this is ...a modern democracy or something,?

HA!

8T

Suga needs to strongly tell all people that is you feel feverish, have a cough, sore throat, body aches.............You should assume you have covid and get tested asap.

Increased testing, It is like moving a mountain, it will never happen. Their saving grace is the asympthomatic and mild cases.

If Japan wants to make a good prevention against Covid, Suga should keep the borders closed, especially for next month upcoming chinese new year.

According to other news many many chinese from mainland are planing to travel to Japan.

Keep the borders close!

The virus is already rampant and wrecking havoc here. Do nothing to mitigate the spread domestically and focus on the few people entering the country that has no land borders.

If the first state of emergency was successful, why is there a second one? If the first state of emergency was NOT successful, then why is there a second one? Obviously the first state of emergency was not successful except temporarily.

There are Japanese people being forced into dire straits by these requests.

SOEs are not the solution!

It seems like a lot of people fail to realise many small businesses who are suffering financially are getting 0 government support despite trying their best to abide by safety advice they have been given.

Until a SoE is official they get no help. A nasty tactic by jgov, at least thats how it worked last time. Seeing as 0 information has been given about the new SoE, maybe it is too much to expect the same kind of financial support as last year.

That's an excellent point

 a SOE is not necessary.

It seems like a lot of people fail to realise many small businesses who are suffering financially are getting 0 government support despite trying their best to abide by safety advice they have been given. Until a SoE is official they get no help. A nasty tactic by jgov, at least thats how it worked last time. Seeing as 0 information has been given about the new SoE, maybe it is too much to expect the same kind of financial support as last year.

The government has to be pushed more to approve the vaccines quicker as this is the only way to control the virus with the minimum of financial damage.

The number of new infections has been steadily rising over the last three months. Too little too late seems pretty right to me.

I'll second that.

The biggest issue here is the obvious lack of a plan and the fact that there is uncertainty as to what a State of Emergency actually means 2 days before it will go into effect. This is a lack of leadership.

The previous SoE worked very well and I credit the Japanese people for this. For the most part people followed the recommendations and there was a tangible and significant reduction in Covid infections.

Again: cancel the Olympics and divert unspent funds to helping Japanese citizens and residents of Japan and businesses impacted. Keep the SoE as short as practical. An uncertain length/duration is ok if there is a metric attached to the end point (i.e. particular delta in infections or absolute number of infections).

I couldn't possibly agree more!! Hear Hear!!

No one is judging the people of Japan or saying they want Japanese people to die. Most comments are fighting for the people. The cases started gradually increasing since October. People were also worried. People were tired. People were scared. The government could have done something but instead chose to wait until the cases have exploded for beyond an amount the government can control.

Well said!

rainyday

Great answer!

"Do you really think you can extinguish a fire by leaving it until it's big and then just splashing it with water from a bucket?" wrote user Kei Koike.

Of course, it is not possible to extinguish a fire by splashing water on it.However the uses of fire have been known to man for many years and the myriad ways fire has helped man can be seen in history. Fire has helped us prepare food and to start revolutions.The PM knows what fire is for and we can be sure that it isn’t in his belly but rather gently lapping at the underside of a big hunk of bovine flesh.

as the government seeks to keep economic damage to a minimum.

If it wasn't anymore obvious to anyone, the government cares more about the economy/corporate interests than the public health and well being of it's citizens.

Another journalist could just as easily write..

Excellent point! In a free, for-profit press journalists can write from so many different perspectives. In stark contrast to authoritarian states where the authoritarian determines what is reported and how it's reported.

Which citizens?

Japanese ones mostly.

Another journalist could just as easily write..

a move derided by citizens as too much, too soon,

Except that nobody in their right mind views this as too much too soon.

An easy bias trick, just cherry pick the opinions you count as "citizens"

Great language police work there detective, but how does this in any way change the substance of the article?

@Akie

What do you mean ? Too little of death ? or Too late to die ?

Japanese may never be right in your eyes, but we can survive.

No one is judging the people of Japan or saying they want Japanese people to die. Most comments are fighting for the people. The cases started gradually increasing since October. People were also worried. People were tired. People were scared. The government could have done something but instead chose to wait until the cases have exploded for beyond an amount the government can control.

Suga needs to strongly tell all people that is you feel feverish, have a cough, sore throat, body aches.............You should assume you have covid and get tested asap. People should also assume that everybody outside the house has covid. Now it is possible that you might have a cold or the flu or...............but not likely. This is not rocket science. Also assume that the covid figures are highly manipulated only for the comfort of the public. WTF? The Government needs to stop being wimps and tell it like it is. People need to be more proactive and take care of themselves, wear a mask, wash your hands, stay home for awhile, forget about going out and drinking..................Not so difficult is it? There is a lack of awareness and selfishness in the country that has lit the fuse on this pandemic. This is a wildfire that needs to be put out with with every available resource imaginable. Seems the Government is just using a garden hose.

a move derided by citizens as too little, too late,

Which citizens?

By the same citizens who are at fault for the spike in the virus. They kept going to izakayas, karaoke, dance clubbing, not practicing proper social distancing.

The biggest issue here is the obvious lack of a plan and the fact that there is uncertainty as to what a State of Emergency actually means 2 days before it will go into effect. This is a lack of leadership.

The previous SoE worked very well and I credit the Japanese people for this. For the most part people followed the recommendations and there was a tangible and significant reduction in Covid infections.

I would have hoped that the government planned for this and would have the recommendations/rules drafted and ready to go. Now they are discussing punitive actions for violators which is following places like California in the U.S. which is certainly not the right example.

Again: cancel the Olympics and divert unspent funds to helping Japanese citizens and residents of Japan and businesses impacted. Keep the SoE as short as practical. An uncertain length/duration is ok if there is a metric attached to the end point (i.e. particular delta in infections or absolute number of infections).

It is a difficult balance and a huge challenge (economic health vs. the squelching of the virus) but at least they could have had a plan ready to go.

emergency declaration, asked residents to refrain from non-essential, non-urgent outings after 8 p.m. from Friday until at least the end of the month, and said restaurants must close by that time.

so focused on the do go no where after 8pm as if the virus only hunts after 8pm .

no I bet it will be business as usual

The number of new infections has been steadily rising over the last three months. Too little too late seems pretty right to me.

i will be following the advice given and everyone else should too, otherwise this disgusting virus will continue to go up here in japan.

If Japan wants to make a good prevention against Covid, Suga should keep the borders closed, especially for next month upcoming chinese new year.

According to other news many many chinese from mainland are planing to travel to Japan.

Keep the borders close!

Don’t rush these important decisions. Take your time. Set up another panel to discuss the main points on how to address the situation. No rush.

Meanwhile, cases in my town are exponentially rising. ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ

"Suga's upcoming decision on state of emergency derided as too little, too late"

What do you mean ? Too little of death ? or Too late to die ?

Japanese may never be right in your eyes, but we can survive.

Many buisnesses will go into bancruptcy, many people will lose jobs and many life existence will be destroyed.

If people behave in a well manner by using their best personal preventions, a SOE is not necessary.

But the stupid media and fear mongering idiots are pushing the SOE because they need new sensation news for their daily reports.

But measures are likely to be far less sweeping than they were during last year's roughly month-long state of emergency, during which schools and none-essential businesses shut down, as the government seeks to keep economic damage to a minimum.

Well ... "Hope" my dear friend RIP

Suga said on Monday that "limited, concentrated measures" would be most effective, but details remained unclear, including whether sports venues, theaters and cinemas would close.

Oh look, the new "improved" SOE! WOW! And the best thing, nobody knows any details the day before the decision!! Godlike!

"Do you really think you can extinguish a fire by leaving it until it's big and then just splashing it with water from a bucket?"

Wait who said that? "user Kei Koike" oh ... sorry, no revival my dear friend ...

"full on sarcasm mode"

Japan: "We are now in a state of emergency. Everything will be business as usual; however, please try not to party after 8pm." Thank you for listening.