Gov't to ask companies to promote telework as virus spreads

The total number of infections confirmed in Japan topped 730 on Friday...

The total figure includes 634 cases from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that was quarantined at Yokohama Port...

Why are you including the cruise ship numbers in the Japan interior numbers when the ship was quarantined which means separated?

This John's Hopkins site has Japan's number at 105: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2_9cT1sV7182D_W-6vutJ1D5OWpFoWhS0OEQI0fnU_T_UtoY5FtMLC2r8#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

What will happen to the vessel once all the passengers have been removed? Will it be cleaned and attempted to be put back into service?

I just find it remarkable that other countries who removed their passengers from the ship after testing negative, are now forcing them to stay in quarantine for another two weeks, and still Japan is saying that their people can just walk off the ship and resume their lives! Now two and probably more Aussies have tested positive after flying home.

At least ask, force these people to undergo multiple tests, and try to get them to stay at home away from others. I am not afraid of this virus myself, but its the fear and the uncertainty that will cause far ore damage than the virus itself!

I just find it remarkable that other countries who removed their passengers from the ship after testing negative, are now forcing them to stay in quarantine for another two weeks, and still Japan is saying that their people can just walk off the ship and resume their lives! 

You clearly aren’t accounting for how special Japanese people are.

One thing I can not wrap my head around is the news that workers from the health ministry who were on the ship just returned to their offices without getting tested, as they had no "symptoms"!

If these are the folks that are giving out the advice here, we are all in a bucket of guano for the next month or so!

So true about necessity to take time off work when having symtoms of a cold. Just on train as read this, and guy oppositewearing no mask coughs directly at me. Got up and moved instantly. Probably too late though?

Japanese people: get your s*** together. When is it acceptable in most cultures to transmit colds/flu to others ?

Chip StarToday 07:19 am JST

What will happen to the vessel once all the passengers have been removed? Will it be cleaned and attempted to be put back into service?

Clean it. Paint a new name on it. Good to go; those things aren't cheap.

People keep making claims like "so they just let them go free?!", then express indignation on how it is handled.

No. They wouldn't have just let them go free.

JT posters like to imagine a scenario and then get indignant, REAL indignant about it.

Because hysteria helps.

Send the ship off for scrap, even if cleaned and renamed it's like Boeing now

I feel the Japanese gov't is hiding the number of cases caught in Japan. The published number is always including the ship's numbers and numbers evacuated from Wuhan. So, it is hard to see how the virus is spreading. If they do give us these numbers, it is always broken down by prefecture, so it is harder to calculate how that number compares to yesterday. Is the pace of infection increasing?

@ guy opposite wearing no mask coughs directly at me. Got up and moved instantly. Probably too late though?

Depends if within 1 meter parameter, but if your a gaijin your ok. Best time to ride the trains when no one sits next to you in the first place. At least the guy didn't blast away like yesterday at the stores and streets. People just blasting away out there and take their masks off when doing it. Go figure. Though must add there has been an increase of open blasting and coughing lately.

@The quarantine period, which was intended to prevent the coronavirus from spreading in Japan, has been criticized for potentially worsening the outbreak on the ship.

Better the ship and kept to the ship than the taxpaying population.

@Meanwhile, Motegi said nine countries -- Bhutan, Israel, Kiribati, Micronesia, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, South Korea, Thailand and Tonga -- have issued warnings against traveling to Japan, which, including the Diamond Princess, accounts for the most infections globally behind China.

Well at least we know all the named anti-Japan countries listed and not surprising to see some of them on it.

The ship should have been kicked out to go somewhere else than remained docked in Yokohama. Not our problem that this misfortune happened to them but no one forced them to be on a luxury liner either.

“Authorities in Hokkaido are investigating how the boys, neither of whom had been overseas lately, contracted the virus.”

This is why I have so little faith in authorities here. It’s clearly being spread from Japanese to Japanese yet they still want to link it to big bad gaikoku.

The handling of this has been appalling. When nations start evacuating their citizens from a country it’s because they do not trust the country said citizens are in to look after their citizens. People here were smug about Japanese being evacuated from China. Now nations are doing the same from Japan. It speaks volumes.

The government has defended its measures, with health minister Kato saying, "The appropriate steps were taken under the direction of doctors aboard the ship."

There you go, the government of Japan is faultless, the 20% infection rate on the ship was all done according to plan and under the direction of the ship's doctors.

If the passengers didn't board the ship in the first place, they would not have got infected. Again, government is faultless.

Infected passengers who travelled onwards without testing and quarantine in Japan do so under the Vienna International Convention on Maritime Infectious Disease Sharing protocol. Again, government faultless.

Government of Japan = Shkookum Ok!

BTW, when tourism go pear shape here, it's because of someone else's fault too, OK! Government of Japan is simply a stable genius OK!

Too late, it should have been done last year.

The health ministry said Friday it will encourage more companies to promote telework and staggered working hours as part of efforts to prevent further spread of the new coronavirus in Japan.

encourage more companies? That sounds weak. pass laws. That's what you're supposed to do. Lead.

Kentaro Iwata, an expert on infectious diseases at Kobe University Hospital who was a part of a medical response team that boarded the ship, described this week "chaotic" scenes with no proper distinction between infected and non-infected zones in now-removed YouTube videos, although he said Thursday he was informed the situation has since improved.

The government has defended its measures, with health minister Kato saying, "The appropriate steps were taken under the direction of doctors aboard the ship."

Reads just like the CCP.

And ladies and gentlemen, drum roll for the punchline of the joke........

We will do everything we can to support foreign nationals," Motegi said

HAHAHAHAHAHA+HA!!!!

What will happen to the vessel once all the passengers have been removed? Will it be cleaned and attempted to be put back into service?

Nobody would throw away a $500M ship only in operation since 2004. Cruise ships are designed for 30 year life and get refurbished multiple times.

Princess will have guys in white bunny suites wearing respiration equipment spray something like Lysol on every surface. Here's an advertisement for a deployment system - sorta cool to see it work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayFpyZSW81I

Whether any disinfectant works to kill Wu-Flu or not, may not be known, but the normal wipes, handsanitzers are effective against SARS, so it wouldn't be too far a leap to expect that for the current virus as well.

The total number of infections confirmed in Japan topped 730 on Friday...

The total figure includes 634 cases from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that was quarantined at Yokohama Port...

Why are you including the cruise ship numbers in the Japan interior numbers when the ship was quarantined which means separated?

That's a very good question- My guess, and this is only a guess, would be that they are counting the number of Japanese nationals infected as Japanese cases, which makes sense if the ship is in Japanese waters AND the infected are Japanese. That would make it a 100% Japanese issue.

@Aly Rustom

That's a very good question

Thank you Aly.

govt to ask? whats up with these kindergarden announcements.

It should have been:

"Government issue directive to switch to remote/telework at any company capable of doing so, as of this morning.

If not capable - provide reason why incapable and use other preventative measures "

This is becoming very confusing. Just the other day we were told that telework during the Olympics had been ruled out, but now it's being requested because of coronavirus.

https://japantoday.com/category/business/tokyo-commuters-bound-for-olympic-crowd-crush-as-japan-inc-rules-out-work-from-home

It should have been:

"Government issue directive to

The government is meant to be the representative of the people. If you wish to live under a regime where government is your ruler, there are places you can move for that.

And I suppose I am going to get blue in the face repeating this but this is a cold virus. It cannot be stopped and its not a plague. These never ending articles about it are highly irresponsible and self-serving and the sheeple need to stop putting stock in them.

On a more positive note, Professor Jonathan Heeney head of the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics, contends with the “right support”  a vaccine could be developed and ready for testing within four months…..If successful lives will be saved. Finger crossed……

Coronavirus vaccine being created by Cambridge laboratory may offer best hope in tackling epidemic

https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/coronavirus-vaccine-being-created-by-cambridge-laboratory-may-offer-best-hope-in-tackling-epidemic-9098906/

I strongly encourage everyone to eat at every meal fresh garlic-protects you from viruses... My grandma from Europe taught me long time ago and I never catch any flu even if my wife and kids are sick around me...

The health ministry said Friday it will encourage more companies to promote telework and staggered working hours as part of efforts to prevent further spread of the new coronavirus in Japan

We hear this same statement every time there is a problem, but nothing ever becomes of it. It’s just like Premium Friday. Who remembers that? Nobody, of course!

I remember premium Friday's! And like this Urge, I remember double + others too, wage rises, I love the one about OT then make it legal to be asked to do upto 100hrs a month. That's a classic. This one totally ignores the basic fact there are not enough fax machines to allow people to work from home.

That's a very good question

Thank you Aly.

You are most welcome. Hope my answer helped, even though it is no more than a guess at this point.

Only the strong will survive, and only the strong will, so you have to be a woman or a be man for Japan,for only the strong will survive

The government can't order companies to allow companies to allow their employees to telework. They can ask but that's all. Besides, teleworking is really only possible for white collar workers. Think how many industries need a physical presence at the workplace. Factories, retailers, wholesalers, airlines, trains, buses, stations, airports, hospitals, fire and police departments, sporting facilities, entertainment venues like cinemas, concert halls, etc, restaurants and so on. Then there are sales staff who need to meet their clients, consultants, advertising and marketing presentations to be done.

It is not as easy as some people think. Personally, I don't like teleworking. I tend to get lazy and miss the interaction with colleagues at the office. About one day is all I could stand.

The Japanese government is going to play catch-up during this crisis; it is not in their MO to get out ahead of problems. The government doesn't want to jeopardize the Olympics and Japan's image. So, they release hundreds of people into the general population who should still be quarantined, if we are to accept that the virus possibly has an up to 24 day infectious incubation period.

I'm afraid this is going to get very bad soon, leading to an unhappy springtime in Japan.

The ship should have been kicked out to go somewhere else than remained docked in Yokohama.

then all those Japanese on board should be kicked out until theyre cleared of infection also, after all they chose to be on a luxury liner,!? A virus doesn't care which nationality you are

It is not as easy as some people think. Personally, I don't like teleworking. I tend to get lazy and miss the interaction with colleagues at the office. About one day is all I could stand.

and when you office staff start coming down with the virus, do you think it will be difficult then!?

Id guess that itll be implemented pretty darn quick.

now-removed YouTube videos, although he said Thursday he was informed the situation has since improved.

key words being has since improved. More bureaucratic backtracking. Who else gets nervous when these jokers are forced to actually make decisions?

The removal of the videos is most likely an effort to avoid a general public panic, but the cat is sort of out of the bag now. Buckle down folks, the storm is in the post. Stay as informed, pragmatic and ahead of the curve as possible. Something tells me our relationships and society in general are about to be tested. Hope they stay strong.

Save yourselves because I surely can't save you nor the governments can either at least for now. WE all have 1 life only that's it. Cloning is not that advanced yet.

What I posted 2 weeks ago finally has been revealed; Chinese researchers just confirmed that patients can transmit the coronavirus without showing symptoms. A woman passed it to 5 relatives. Chinese researchers have confirmed a case of asymptomatic transmission of the new coronavirus: A 20-year-old woman from Wuhan passed it to five of her family members but never got physically sick herself. The case study is the first concrete evidence that a person showing no symptoms can pass the coronavirus to others — a fact that could make curbing the outbreak even more challenging.

Whether it was the correct decision to just let the Japanese get off the ship and go home, I suppose we'll know within the next week. I just find it strange that every other single question requires returnees to be quarantined at home, just in case.

thFu

you'd have to rip apart the entire HVAC system, every vent, every shaft. They spray down Norovirus ships but it's not effective. Get their money back by scrapping it and insurance.

It's like Boeing MAX groundings. They can load up as much software as they want but as an IT guy I'm not boarding the plane. Airlines don't want the notoriety on their brand, same as cruise lines but fewer news items on those. Not this time with worldwide press on that ship

Health officials around the world are watching closely to see if it mutates. It's been too long in too many places.

Why are you including the cruise ship numbers in the Japan interior numbers when the ship was quarantined which means separated.

I find this dashboard useful for up to date, non-ship, Japan infection details.

https://jagjapan.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/55c22ee976bc42338cb454765a6edf6b

Currently 111; you can check by prefecture, age, etc. of curse, it only lists confirmed cases, and as there’s quite a procedure from being symptomatic through to being tested, the total circulating numbers can only be surmised based on confirmed cases. Especially, as 80% of cases appear to be mild, so wouldn’t meet the govt’s criteria for being tested, if you have no other risk factors (been in China, etc).

Viktor Cernatinskij:

I strongly encourage everyone to eat at every meal fresh garlic-protects you from viruses... My grandma from Europe taught me long time ago and I never catch any flu even if my wife and kids are sick around me...

Why is this spreading in South Korea then?

Well, you've asked J companies to increase wages, reduce overtime, increase women in the work force,.....and how'd that turn out?

The most surprising things about that photo is that the two people on bikes aren't using phones,riding the wrong way,listening to music,have passengers,holding umbrellas/parasols and are actually abiding by the road traffic/bicycle laws.

Tora, obviously you need eastern european garlic ... the chinese cheap one you eat here aint enough...

but seriously beyond eating proper healthy diets... the garlic is only sure to scare people away when they smell you... which may or may not produce the desired result....

@Northernlife

Surely that was the joke?

China is doing a great job compared to what I have seen here.

Those toilet sprays on the walls in most toilets for cleaning the seats are great for cleaning your hands and also for cleaning the door locks and handles before you leave. Same chemicals.

What a rollercoaster. First we are tell by the Ministry of Health to avoid crowds and packed train. Next Abe himself tells us to stay home from work and school if we had the sniffles. Yesterday we saw a photo of cute tourists in cue masks in inneluctably cute Kyoto having fun. What me worry about it? Coronavirus is cute.

Now today it is dark skies again: "Gov't to ask companies to promote telework as virus spreads."

So where is this going to end before this country starts to act in a crisis mode.

If some Japanese Companies start to realize that they can function with the majority of their employees teleworking from home, they may start to wonder whether they need such large Office spaces. The real estate market may therefore be under threat if this turns out to be the case... as too having local Japan based employees.

BTW on the subject of Teleworking - has anyone seen any Corporate guidelines upon Teleworking dress code ? Perhaps I can work in the buff on a hot day ?

Keep calm and wash your hands.

I am wondering, how many people will stop and work from home?, although it's a good idea, its time saving, its more flexible, no more daily commute on crowded trains, and money saving, as you're not having to buy as many train tickets, I would like to see if the concept catches on and how many people suggest it to the boss, especially if it saves time and money thus making it more efficient for the employer and employee.

Depends upon the work. if the role I am performing is doable from home, then surely working from home is great. however in practice I have found this to be less efficient, mainly due to ancillary productive communication between colleagues and other business related activities.

If we sit together and talk together between ourselves/colleagues who sit next to each other, using an online Chat system rather than verbally, then... working from home will clearly work. Guess, you need to focus upon your day to day work model first, before deciding how to best move forward with this request.

Also, Japan central government has a major issue with those who wish to cycle to work. There are not enough legitimate parking spaces for your bicycle in the paid-for bays, so you are regularly subjected to removal/retrieval fees of 2000 yen ... this needs fixing. As its clearly a fly-trap tax by design.