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© KYODOAnxiety prevails over state of emergency declaration
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oldman_13
Good luck Japan!
Toshihiro
Japan has already survived countless disasters throughout its history, it can weather this one out.
Chip Star
No, we didn’t have a “mini” state of emergency in early March. Let’s save the inaccuracies for after 7:30.
Mark
Ahhhh, the disposable face mask drama again!!! people are obsessed with them, never seem to have enough, the more the better. Imagine our world before we had them! ?People washed and reused their masks and things were fine.
Mirai Hayashi
I found this comment really annoying. First of all, there are SO MANY things that people of all ages can do other than play pachinko during this Japanese style lockdown. If that's all you can think to to pass the time away, then you really have a sad and pathetic life. Read a book! Take up a new skill. Catch up on some old movies. Find some friends and have an online party.
Secondly, no one is trying to "take away pleasures from old people" (stupid statement) They're trying to SAVE YOUR FRICKEN LIFE!
thepersoniamnow
Mark, I believe the “world” you refer to before surgical masks also had the inquisition, leeches (to cure your fever), and also perhaps a hanging or beheading if you tried any other methods (witchcraft).
kurisupisu
People can’t live without money and need to pay the rent-stay at home and starve or go to work....
since1981
oh come on people! It’s just a temporary thing!! Stay home, reconnect with family, sit round the dinner table together for more than a hour and talk to each other (like we did as a kid in the 60s & 70s) pull out the board games, cards, what ever game that doesn’t require silence! (like we did as a kid in the 60s & 70s) Stop looking at the dark side of things. You’ll get no pity from me. I’m making the best of it and enjoying ever moment I can. Moving the fridge and cleaning behind it, doing some gardening in my tiny space in front of my house, FaceTiming with family and friends in my home country, and even connecting with high school friends I haven’t seen in 40 years and the list goes on!
So let’s keep positive and enjoy this time and before you know it we’ll be looking back on this time as a time that we pulled through together and learning new things about ourselves, about how we can survive the toughest times. I’m sure this will. Not be the last.
Stay Safe, Stay Positive, Stay Happy.
SillyMe
ToshihiroApr. 7 05:10 pm JST
ToshihiroToday 06:52 am JST
2 Year Old
They are trying to stop it getting to that. It only takes 2-3 weeks to completely explode from a few cases to hundreds of thousands... as mankind now found out in places like the USA.
Anywhere with limit screening the real number of cases is bound to be much more.
Cricky
@since1981 exactly.
Though confusion does rain heavily for most without a routine or direction from others.
Jim
Japan is fighting a losing battle against the outbreak because people are just too arrogant to make sacrifices and some can’t change their relaxed attitude. Despite the increase in the number of infected, most people are the least bit bothered! There will be sudden surge in the deaths in the days ahead and watch this infection get out of hand! This state of emergency declaration is more or less a failure because not much changes will be seen!
kitzrow
’Gaman’ is so important for everyone in Japan. Also social distancing works and Japan needs to do this so that down the road a pandemic here in Japan does not take place. I worry it might be too late.
maxjapank
I work in a prefecture not included in the State of Emergency. And by the look of my fellow Japanese teachers, they don't seem worried at all about the virus. Two-thirds of the teachers are not wearing masks while laughing and talking right next to each other. And about one-third are unaware that they are coughing or sneezing without covering their mouth or nose. Maybe we'll be lucky.
gogogo
1.8 meters apart please!
Luddite
People still haven’t grasped the seriousness of this pandemic.
Freshwind
The younger generation face anxiety which is true. Among the elders I get the feeling that they're somewhat o.k. I've spoken to some elders and I've been told that in this country they have been through natural disaster after disaster, multiple economic crisises, famine and wars. This virus is dangerous but they have the experience to pull through. I wish the younger generation had more of the same mentality but they are not to be blamed. They face a lot of pressure.
since1981
What I can't understand is why do I see kids going to school this morning??????
To Parents: Just because the government has schools open doesn't mean you have to allow your kids to go to school. Stand up for your family and don't send them to school!
Cricky
Having lived here for over 10 years, this abysmal situation totally is to be accepted. As an example Fucashima exploding live on BBC but the J government saying nothing is wrong. And foreign media are anti Japanese. Now mass pandemic and the government response...I have a wet tissue that has more qualities of leadership, certainly my sloppy piece of tissue displays more responsibility.
Roger Jolly
They are right. Because there is no emergency. Despite that most of Tokyo people have to lose jobs, money and they leisure time (while being requested to go to work) for nothing.
kohakuebisu
I suspect some of it is arrogance, and some of that will be "Japan is different"-type nationalistic arrogance, but there is also a simple lack of imagination. All those people still went to hanami, schools still had opening ceremonies with kids entering the room in a procession, and people are still going to offices to do deskwork that could be done at home because people cannot imagine things being done differently. This makes people incapable of changing their ways.
Luddite
Primary school next to me open today, seem to be having one of their superfluous ceremonies.
Utter madness.
carpslidy
Utter madness is keeping kids home when they are at very low risk and there is evidence closing schools doesnt work.
My kids happily went to school this morning. Hopefully schools in my prefecture wont close again.
If they do I ll happily take them to the park everyday, may as well enjoy all this free time.
If you want your kids to stay home good for you, though I would be interested to know if your kids feel the same.
since1981
You seem part of the problem not the solution.
Yes kids are at low risk but not as carriers and can easily pass it on to others like grandparents, parents and so on.
carpslidy
@1981
I put my kids wellbeing above my own.
I am only part of a problem if you think kids going to school is a problem.
since1981
Point taken. I can agree with that.
Stev
Nothing to be anxiety as long as you follow protocal.
YeahRight
And how does 1,000 people hospitalized out of a population of 14 million, or 4,100 cases out of a population of 130 million, become a crisis? Hint: It doesn't.
Let the negative votes flow, but you know I'm right.
Mlodinow
I'm surprised (well, not really) that more shops aren't practicing proper social distancing. The only one that I've seen so far is Starbucks, where they have packed away 30-50% of the chairs to make sure customers sit at least 1m away from each other. Now even they will close for a few weeks, but I am quite sure that next weekend I will still see throngs of neigbourhood children and parents down at the small park on my street, playing together and happily ignoring the pleas for their own safety.
commanteer
That's easy to say when you have a home. Millions could end up losing their homes, not being able to feed their kids, or suffering other effects of having no money. Not everyone is in your enviable position. Many will lose their livelihoods.
HBJ
Here is a good example showing that the government hasn’t been acting appropriately enough, or speaking strongly enough, or clearly enough.
Business owners are still putting their health at risk because they fear losing their livelihoods.
The government should’ve made it absolutely clear that all businesses will be protected by during this crisis, or in the event of a lockdown.
As it stands, people don’t really have a clue and as such still aren’t taking the measures necessary to slow down the spread of this virus.
Luddite
I live in Hyogo. In the supermarket this afternoon there was only an elderly man and I who were not wearing masks. However, apart from a salaryman, I was the only one who used the hand sanitiser available, no one was heeding the notices around the shop asking customers to respect social distancing and everyone was ignoring the taped markings on the floor at the queue for the tills. I was even encouraged to move forward by a member of staff. But it’s Ok, everyone is wearing a stupid mask. I do despair.
BeerDeliveryGuy
And when the bombs were falling on London, the schools stayed open, the pubs continued serving lukewarm beer, and the milkman still delivered because people could not imagine things being different.
Maybe it’s an island nation show of resilience thing, or a shared trait of downplaying issues.
commanteer
Oh never mind then. Japanese people don't need businesses, jobs or money. They can live on wa.
Mirai Hayashi
I really don't understand the "state of emergency" in Japan, and the laws associated with it. So according the news, the government cannot force businesses to shut down (even in a state of emergency). But what if this were something else? What if North Korea was hurling bombs at us? Will it be business as usual under those conditions as well? Will the trains keep running and the shops stay open if bombs are dropping on top of Tokyo and killing people?
If not, how is this any different? People are dying! Even if we are not at war with another country, we are at war with an invisible enemy, and guess what...its winning. This is a World War and the enemy will continue to win if we don't get a clue and start taking this thing more seriously.
BeerDeliveryGuy
Under a general “state of emergency” the government cannot restrict civil liberties (movement, business, assembly, etc). The biggest change is that the govt can order temporary leasing of private property for field hospitals, etc..
In case of attack from foreign or domestic threats, the military has the authority to order evacuation to facilitate operations, but cannot force businesses to stop operating if it does not interfere with military operations.