People walk in Osaka's Umeda area on Monday. Photo: KYODO
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Quasi-emergency COVID-19 measures begin in Osaka, Hyogo, Miyagi prefectures

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"Given the previous SOEs didn’t have any consequence,"

It just cut the cases from a peak of 8000 to under 1000 in less than a month.

-13 ( +9 / -22 )

In Hachioji, a Tokyo city, pre-booking of the first 1,900 vaccine doses for the elderly based on a first-come basis was completed in about 90 minutes on Monday morning, according to city officials.

and the system was flawless. It shows the hard work is paying off.

-24 ( +3 / -27 )

The mask thing here I dont understand.

What should the customers do during eating and drinking?

I guess Mask off, right?

And then after one zip of drink or one chop of food, mask on again?

Next zip of drink, next chop of food mask off again?

After that, Mask on again...and so on?

Who will do that?

In Restaurants, where you order one dish and one drink, I understand during eating and drinking time mask off, then during talking time mask on.

But in Bars and Izakayas, where you order constantly small dishes and drinks, how should that work?

-3 ( +13 / -16 )

And how exactly do "quasi-emergency" measures differ from a proper state of emergency? Same difference...

28 ( +29 / -1 )

Quasi-emergency = half-assed

31 ( +33 / -2 )

*Quasi*-“ ??? This is ‘a first’ for the government to be somewhat ‘ambiguous’. *Should we be “marginally“, “partially’ or ‘mostly’ concerned*?

18 ( +19 / -1 )

and the system was flawless. It shows the hard work is paying off.

It shows they only had 1900 vaccines and ran out after 90 minutes to the lucky few who were able to get through on the phone.

24 ( +25 / -1 )

So that's how they chose to translate まん延防止等重点措置 into English!

On a Sunday news show one commentator suggested Governor Yoshimura felt ashamed when lifted the old state of emergency too early and so when things got out of hand, came up with new emergency measure under a new name, but essentially more of the same, in order to save face. I tend to agree. It's all bordering on Double Speak. As others here have said, it's meaningless.

22 ( +22 / -0 )

Attendance at large events such as concerts and sports games are capped at 5,000

This should work. :)

13 ( +13 / -0 )

This is laughable! When will they J-Gov't realize that the "measures" they impliment are not effective?

14 ( +16 / -2 )

Attendance at large events such as concerts and sports games are capped at 5,000

Yes, and to reassure you, this has now been officially designated as a quasi super-spreader event.

... install acrylic sheets to prevent droplet transmission ...

Better than nothing, but almost certainly, the greater risk is from aerosol transmission - it's the aerosolised virus circulating all round a poorly ventilated space that is most likely to get you. A great article from el Pais explains this clearly:

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

9 ( +9 / -0 )

In the Umeda downtown district of Osaka city, Masakazu Nishimura, 60, who runs an izakaya Japanese-style pub, said his establishment had taken steps such as installing hand sanitizers and acrylic boards to prevent droplets transmission, and will start calling for customers to wear face masks from Monday.

"Restaurants and bars are shouldering a risk as it costs a lot to take preventive measures," said the pub manager, adding he hopes customers will cooperate with the quasi-emergency steps.

If this idiot had taken steps already like he should have his customers would already be used to it.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Is "Quasi-Emergency" anything like Dean Wormer's "Double-Secret Probation" from the movie "Animal House"? It kind of feels like it.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Mask On...Mask Off

When in Osaka tomorrow I will follow that rule.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

@GdTokyoToday 05:37 pm JST

Is "Quasi-Emergency" anything like Dean Wormer's "Double-Secret Probation" from the movie "Animal House"? It kind of feels like it.

Brilliantly funny.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

What on earth is a “quasi-emergency measure”???

Increase testing daily and make it free (even if you have a sniffle), improve contact tracing methods, limit patrons (not so much opening hours) to establishments and beef up the vaccination program.

Come on Japan!

6 ( +7 / -1 )

I think this ""new"" measure may qualify for being quasi STUPID!!!

9 ( +10 / -1 )

House arrest for normal people will be next. Step by step. Ask Okinawans what happened when told to throw sharpened bamboo sticks at bomber warplanes...

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

Not vaccinating the populous fast enough is the greatest quasi emergency of all. The dill who currently keeps the PM chair warm gets his so he can go on a jaunt, screw the rest of you is his attitude.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

unnecessary, dont need measures, dont want them either.

stay at home if you are concerned. life is full of dangers, just dont do stupid things like touching your face all the time and chances are you'll be fine.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

Meanwhile, the trains during rush hour are jam packed. How about fining companies for making employees physically have to be present at the office? Punishing restaurants and bars only isn't going to curb anything.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

I am happy to live in a country that lefts the individual decide what or what they don't want to do.

-13 ( +1 / -14 )

With 30% of Japanese employed in work like construction, craftsperson, factory work and another 10% bars, restaurants, and 15% in other service work.

They can all just somehow builds houses, roads, serve non existent customer from home.

20% of Japanese workers are office staff type.

This according to the Japanese government's own data, even if every single office worker could work from home the 40% of the workforce that work "manual labour" like the guy in the cobini you use, the supermarket, the guy that delivers your order from Amazon Rakuten, etc . So you can work from home and not have to go out,

Yes how many here talk about lockdown and complain about people going out to work, then sit back and order their food from Uber and don't think twice about that guy having to be out.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

I feel quasi worried that this will be quasi effective.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

As Dr. Evil would put it:

You're not quite isolated enough. You're semi-isolated. You're quasi-isolated. You're the margarine of isolation. You're the Diet Coke of isolation, just one calorie, not isolated enough.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Good luck as history repeats itself and i guess the GOVT nothing had been learned from the last 2 SoE......

3 ( +4 / -1 )

That will happen about as soon as employees start suing their employers...never.

So what do you suggest? Closing factories, construction sites, supermarkets, conbini, bars, restaurants, Uber food, Amazon warehouse, sagawa, kuroneko, etc..

Because 40% of all workers in Japan work in these types of jobs which none can be done remotely from home.

If the company closes down and tells employees to stay home, where will the company get the money to pay these now not working employees?

People keep pointing to other countries that closed down but no one dares point out that in most of those countries the government paid companies and or the workers to close and stay home.

Unless the Japanese government implements something like that, the businesses and workers here have no choice to stay open and keep working.

Note that even in the harshest lockdown some poor low paid person was still working to make sure the lucky ones staying home got their food, their Amazon delivery, their utilities staid on and working safely, etc...

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

Quasi state of emergency in Miyagi? Is that because of the chicken hawk substandard governor? Maybe mr murai is not man enough to wield the authority for a full state of emergency.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

At JR Sannomiya Station at the center of Kobe, Tomomi Okawa, a 46-year-old nurse working for a care facility for the elderly, said, "I feel like authorities are leaving everything up to individuals' efforts."

And this is Japan’s problem.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

At last.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The picture...so grey, dim, drab.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Ricky SanchezToday  05:02 pm JST

This is laughable! When will they J-Gov't realize that the "measures" they impliment are not effective?

“ when it bites them in the A$$”

3 ( +3 / -0 )

So that's how they chose to translate まん延防止等重点措置 into English!

On a Sunday news show one commentator suggested Governor Yoshimura felt ashamed when lifted the old state of emergency too early and so when things got out of hand, came up with new emergency measure under a new name, but essentially more of the same, in order to save face. I tend to agree. It's all bordering on Double Speak. As others here have said, it's meaningless.

According to a poster on another article, this is an example of Japan's highly analytical society!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The inactivity and inability of those in power to do anything to protect people and mitigate the effects of the virus is criminally negligent.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The word 'quasi' just about describes how this incompetent government has handled the situation.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Last thing we need is quasi-anything.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Japan's current COVID "problem" should also be viewed relatively to the rest of the world. The case numbers may be going up, but by most countries, they are still incredibly low, both in new cases and in deaths. The US has 10 times as many cases per 1M people, and 10X the number of deaths. All the European countries also have significantly more cases+deaths per 1M persons. Japan is also doing far better than Asia and the World on average. Good that Japan has high standards, but the problem seems to be less than it's being made out to be. If only Japan could get its vaccination rate up!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Took Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo today and spent a lovely day in center returning to hotel

Places were not as busy as I expected but train at rush hour was jammed packed, far more than I would see in Osaka.

I didn’t see people social distancing and many without masks.

measures like closing bars early are silly, in Osaka they get more packed than before and the trains are full from 8 to 9, lol

Glad to see many people being sensible and realising Covid is unlikely to effect them. Very grateful we don’t have the mass hysteria like the West where many more have died despite draconian rules and lockdowns

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Glad to see many people being sensible and realising Covid is unlikely to effect them. Very grateful we don’t have the mass hysteria like the West where many more have died despite draconian rules and lockdowns

Where did you see mass hysteria ?

Oh, let me guess ... in some medias ?

Many died because social distancing isn't part of the western culture whereas it's a way of life in Japan.

On the other hand, you have to accept suicides, kodokushi and decline of the birth rate ...

Choose your side but there no perfect society.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Anyone else feel like they're not declaring an official SoE because they don't want to mess with MEXT and the schools reopening?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

quasi emergency is that like a charade, a canard, or a fable?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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