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© KYODOSuga says adequate measures in place to prevent virus cases spreading from Olympic athletes
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JeffLee
You and your friends have been saying this repeatedly for over a year now. How about doing something about it?
Thailand is now racing to build a massive field hospital in an airplane hangar in response to the delta variant's rapid spread. The UK and China did the same thing last year. Why isn't Japan doing likewise?
Mat
I keep seeing what appear to be Olympic related people in Tokyo Station. Masks seem to be optional, or improperly worn. What happened to the bubble?
Asiaman7
Not really. Anyone who has been through Narita Airport over the past month will immediately notice Olympic-related arrivals openly interacting with many volunteers (the public), who then return home each day on public transport.
Cricky
It’s not the Olympics you old fool! It’s you being totally cut off from reality for 18months, “ go to travel” ring a bell?, “go to eat” ring a bell?. He hears the bell and thinks its dinner time. I know the panel that’s convened to discuss measures are now on holiday so your hands are tied. And businesses are demanding the workers congeal together for a smooth economic running. But the hospitals are at breaking point, suddenly you might see the problem. Too late as usual. And even when 14 aged care patients die in Osaka due to unavailability of care he still didn’t think, you know what? This might be serious!
sf2k
How about the larger infections from the public to the Olympians?
Luddite
What about spreading to athletes.
vanityofvanities
There is nothing but to increase vaccinations among younger age groups. Many who are working have not received vaccinations yet.
sakurasuki
Tomorrow count, accumulative cases from Olympic linked is already 193. No one know how many other people are being infected from 193 since not such perfect Olympic bubble.
https://japantoday.com/category/national/update2-tokyo-olympics-see-24-more-covid-cases-highest-daily-count
RGsilence
Correction: "Suga says adequate measures in place to prevent virus cases spreading to Olympic athletes"
Whatever ... this is so stupid ... It's not like that athletes are there to compete and have been tested beforehand ... right right, they are the spreaders, clearly ... Give me a break Suga! Does he actually read articles outside Japan, like ever?? I'm sorry to say that, Bach is being roasted in Germany. Japan's decision to go ahead with the Olympics despite the fact that Covid numbers are skyrocketing in Japan, are heavily criticized! 7 months ago i told a friend in Japan that the Olympics will happen 100%, no matter what ... and sadly i was right. Get this clown out of office pls!
Haaa Nemui
As everybody above has already said, it’s not about the infection coming into Japan, it’s about the infection spreading from Japan. This is why I’m so disappointed with my home country. They’ve done so well at keeping the virus away but then they go and send the athletes to an infection hot spot. The IOC, JOC, LDP… they’re all complicit. As are the respective authorities in every competing nation. I feel for the athletes but it’s just mental.
Daniel
Abe was more bold in decision making and looked more professional even if he lied. Something about Suga just doesn’t sit right… lol !
Aly Rustom
Suga says adequate measures in place to prevent virus cases spreading from Olympic athletes
I doubt even he believes the garbage he's spewing. And that's why he's saying it. He's got absolutely nothing to lose. The damage has already been done and he plans to apologize and resign and viola!! Abe 3.0
Wait and see
O'Brien
So first it was "the Olympians will all be locked down really strictly, asked really politely to stay in their rooms, and the Olympic village will be impregnable". Couple of hundred confirmed cases in the village later, it's now "oh, don't worry, they won't be allowed to spread it to the public". (The public seem perfectly capable of doing that by themselves right now).
There's a line in a Haruki Murakami novel which sums up Suga, and the whole cabinet, pretty well. I don't have the book to hand, but the English translation came out as something like "as woebegone as a three-legged black dog, drenched in winter rain".
kurisupisu
Suga says but nobody listens.
He and Koike should take a trip on the Yamanote train in the rush hour…
Jim
I think people worry & care more about what you have done and going to do to address this surge - record breaking numbers in the nation for two consecutive days already with experts warning next week Tokyo numbers likely to hit 5000?
it has been more than 18 months since this started - apart from you manbo, SOE joke of ON/OFF & repeated urges have you done anything? Show your people some concrete plans with timeline and do the right thing for once!!!!
Albert DeFilippo
If the Olympics has no impact on the sudden increase, then why did it suddenly happen as the Olympics was getting under way and why is it increasing at a high rate in areas where the Olympic events are being held?
HBJ
Further proof that it's all about the Olympics, and the fact that the virus is beginning to explode in regular Japan is neither here nor there to the Prime Minister.
itsonlyrocknroll
Zero risk? How regrettable, to coin a phase?
Anne O'Dyne
I know! How about vaccinating lots of the general public, so that even if they do happen to catch it from an Olympic athlete (or, more likely, a fellow countryman or woman), they are far less likely to get sick and burden the medical system?
Radical idea, I know, but a country with Japan's financial clout and organisational skills should surely be able to sort out an effective vaccine rollout, right?
Right?
.
.
.
.
.
Right?
Mad Max
I agree with you Anne O'Dyne, The 73% of the population who are not vaccinated due to the governments excruciatingly slow reaction to acquire, distribute, and administer the vaccines en masse has brought us to where we are now. If you couple that with the mixed messaging the government has spread guaranteeing that Japan is safe enough to host an international sporting competition, the public is going to wonder why they need to heed caution, stay at home, and not see friends or go out to have some fun.
It was that same mixed messaging with the campaigns 'Go to Eat' and 'Go to Travel' that accelerated the spread of the virus to all corners of Japan. You promoted these campaigns in the middle of a pandemic as you urged caution and the 3 Cs. Holding these Olympic Games is just a repeat of the debacle that happened in 2020. Ramp up the acquisition, distribution, and the administering of the Covid-19 vaccine.
shogun36
That’s because now there’s “nothing to hide” as the olympics have already started and nothing will stop it till it ends.
So NOW, Japan doesn’t care and aren’t tying to “keep their information secret” and thus the “sudden rise” in numbers. The numbers have been horrible all along, they just are giving ACTUAL number now, not FAKE ones.
And as for Suga, really? You figure that one out all by yourself?
While the Olympics aren’t helping with the problem, they definitely can’t be blamed for the whole thing either.
No, that blame should be entirely out on yourself, Suga and your inept Diet and entire Government for constantly banging out blunder and failure again and again and again.
The reasons why Japan is doing so poorly in containing this pandemic are mainly because of you and your boys.
Not the olympics, not the young people, not the restaurants, not the schools, you.
smithinjapan
JeffLee: "The UK and China did the same thing last year. Why isn't Japan doing likewise?"
The "pray it away" approach is still the best option for many here, as action comes to them as swiftly and concisely as a deer caught in headlights.
And I agree with those above -- the numbers to date have been horrible all along, but with it clear that now there is no stopping the Olympics (I believe they WILL consider stopping the Paralympics) they are releasing some real numbers for a change.
Antiquesaving
Really!?
How does he plan on doing that.
Our Tokyo ward 2 weeks ago stopped taking appointments because it had no more vaccine.
On Monday it opened up again and yesterday it was supposed to open to under 30 but already ran out of vaccine for first doses.
The website says it hopes to open up again after August 15 but no mention if that will include under 30.
The 2 neighbouring wards are also closed for first doses.
Unless they plan on using AZ which is proving to be far less effective against Delta ( AZ and J &J 67%, Pfizer 88% Moderna 93% after fully vaccinated based on the latest data from the USA and UK)
mdepaiva
The science is proving that the Delta variant of this virus spreads much quicker than the original, and that it’s mostly unvaccinated people who are getting it. You can blame the Olympics if you want, but its been the slow roll out of the vaccine in Japan which should bear the most blame.
dbsaiya
The delta was going to bite around this time and everyone knew it. People were out watching the torch relays, the Blue Impulse, the bike road races and elsewhere. Athletes' hometown gatherings to cheer on their sons and daughters in front of the TV are too frequent with cheering and no SD. A friend in Sendai said that there was a shuttle bus taking spectators from the parking area to the soccer stadium the other day and the bus was packed. These are the indirect consequences of having the games. How can anyone take Suga's measures seriously? The enemy has changed tactics and these guys are battling using last year's plan while celebrating gold medals. You think the ICU staff are cheering on the games? Good grief!
Mark
STOP dragging the Olympics into this disaster, it has NOTHING to do with this leadership failures.
jason
Suga, you’re so lucky I can’t vote even though I’m a PR with 25 years in Japan….
Sven Asai
Not even one measure is in place, otherwise there wouldn’t be daily and daily rising case numbers.
ZENJI
TRANSLATION: I have no idea what I am talking about!!
jeancolmar
"Suga says adequate measures in place to prevent virus cases spreading from Olympic athletes."
How does he know? He is not an expert in these matters. More importantly, even if true it is largely off the point.
Having the Olympics in the middle of a pandemic is like having a party as your house burns down.
Right now there is a dire shortage of vaccines. That should be the nation's first priority. Were Japan not distracted by the Olympics it would be. It is not.
There are presumably shortages of the vaccine. Why, when the Olympians are squared away? It may turn out to be a case of lousy distribution.
At any rate, getting the populous vaccinated should be the government's first priority. It is not. Now it is a game of go fetch. Get the vaccine if you can.
Pukey2
For the foreign athletes' sake, I hope they get out as soon as possible. They're the ones at risk, from the local population.
As for Suga, for his sake, he needs to find a way of yet reducing the number of tests even more, and more ways of making it difficult for people to get to hospital or testing centres. And find more loopholes in the way positives are officially recorded. His current methods aren't able to mask the exploding numbers sufficiently. And he's not a very good liar.
Kobe White Bar Owner
For anyone who want real updates and not verbal fodder.
https://covid19japan.com/
RainbowUpopo
It’s all about politics in Japan. The people are just pawns.
starpunk
Who the hell does he think he's fooling? Betcha he can't even fool himself. He's knee deep in the doo-doo and he knows it!
didou
Nothing is related to the Olympics
Cases in Japan have started to increase from the end of June, well before the Olympics. People after the end of the SOE in Tokyo went back to bars and restaurants, and with the summer, sunny days, increasing parties, cases have increased.
The only related Olympics stuff is the 4 days break given and people went massively out
didou
If they have already been here more than 14 days, they have the complete freedom to move around.
Erik Morales
He's doing such a great job so far! Suga for re election!
Hideomi Kuze
"adequate measures",
incorrect.
"with border controls at airports preventing them from coming into contact with the public", incorrect.
"We are thoroughly implementing these steps", falsehood.
Rules exist but those are not followed.
All Olympics-related people were supposed to get PCR test everyday.
But, actuality is its half.
Besides, part of Olympians who want to avoid isolation have evaded virus test, Japan's Olympics authorities is using lower accurate antigen test, not PCR test.
Moreover, there are many reports that Olympics-related people go and come from inside Olympics village to outside.
Worthless press conference only for defending reputation of Olympics.
That Suga has not able to prevent infection spreading nationwidely is clear.
Antiquesaving
This has been explained maybe 100 times here and in the news.
Secured, ordered, bought, etc....
Does not mean delivered.
Every country has ordered far more than needed because they understood delivery would take time.
The Japan government plan didn't take into account Delta so they tried getting the fall order delivered in August but neither Pfizer or Moderna can but Pfizer agreed to ship 1/3 in advance during August and September.
But that will mean the planned fall shipment will be 2/3 of planned.
Just delaying things a bit to shortages again
Hideomi Kuze
Present Japan's Suga government depends main corona virus measures on patience or individual effort of people, it is liable to be influenced with social atmosphere.
Present situation that Government and even mainstream media prioritize topics of Japanese gold medalists than defending the lives of people is enough to loosen tension or caution among people to corona virus.
Beto Ramirez
Whatever substance Suga is on is working. My friends in Japan all set through your lies. Even my family says Japan needs a new prime minister. Nothing is being done to curb the spread of the virus. You’re only doing this to not stop the Olympics. You did nothing to help your people. That’s not how a leader does his job
falseflagsteve
Mr Suga is right about one thing, the Olympics are safe. More SOE are daft, just keep up the vaccine rollout, speed it up more maybe. I’m sure in the part of Osaka where I live many places will ignore his advice and people will still be out and about as usual.
jeancolmar
Today's Asahi Shimbun's editorial is headlined, "Unfounded optimism about pandemic making things worse." The editorial begins with,
Pollyanna-ish optimism can kill us.
Pukey2
This excuse of a PM is living on a separate planet.
drlucifer
Xenophobia at its finest. Miss the forest for the trees, The athletes and officials are being tested and are taking precautions knowing testing positive means imprisoned in a hotel and thereafter a flight home.
KevinMcgue
OK, boomer.
drlucifer
Was the testing also a record ? Testing gives a good indication of the spread of the virus and get a goid grasp where to place mitigation efforts, For some unknown reason even experts here don't think testing is important, not one person is calling for increased testing.
drlucifer
Surprised that you think 4K for Tokyo or 10K for nation is the right number, I wll multiply the released numbers by 4 or 5, The delta variant infects like a wildfire and to think a congested city of 14M like Tokyo with no mitigation measures, low vaccination and low testing it is only 4K is nothing but delusion
as_the_crow_flies
Or having a campfire in the middle of a forest.
Designer 02
Ironic that the explosion of cases in Tokyo is happening when the eyes of the World are on Tokyo.
Would have been far better to have cancelled the Olympics and focused attention on the virus.
I do not believe that it is possible to welcome all those associated with the Olympics and for them to have no contact with Japanese residents. They need transportation, accommodation, food etc all provided and serviced by Japanese residents
Do the hustle
And, what measures are in place to prevent the virus spreading to the athletes?
Randy Johnson
Today's Asahi Shimbun's editorial is headlined, "Unfounded optimism about pandemic making things worse." The editorial begins with,
Asahi is a political left publication. That article is nothing more than a hit piece against the opposition.
Tokyoite
It's your imagination running wild again.
Two judokas were sent home today for breaking the Olympic village bubble.
Tokyoite
Apparently the infections only goes one way.
Somehow only from the vaccinated and daily tested athletes.
Commodore Perry
Designer 02July 31 09:48 pm JST
And the airplanes they come over to Japan on. There were a bunch on my flight. And I got contacted from the quarantine guys that someone on my plane tested positive at the airport.
Tokyoite
Same could be said for half of the posters on here.
Keep looking towards one event which has strict control measures with less than 100,000 while completely ignoring the 7,000,000 people that use public transport everyday with no restrictions at all.
Tokyoite
Not connected. Even if the were. governments can do more than one thing at a time you know.
Or do you really believe that the people organizing the "Artistic Swimming" are the same people planning to fight a global pandemic?
WilliB
Sad to see the Japanese govt has bought into the propaganda, conflagrating "cases" with problems from the disease. "Cases" simply reflects testing, and if they tested the entire population (especially with the PCR test), the "cases" would be tens of millions.