Japan to put 3 more prefectures under state of emergency

A little too late for more theatre.

Let me take a guess, no efforts to actually force companies to have their employees work from home? No widespread increase of free and accessible testing to ascertain the extent of the problem? No training of medics or volunteers who would be able to staff mass vaccination centres? No closure of schools and assistance with implementing online learning systems?

Or will it be just close restaurants with more urging and requesting? You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to see what this will entail.

At this point the State of Emergency should be nationwide. There is ongoing travel between prefectures and this will continue as there are some essential services/tasks requiring such travel.

The Central Government is likely afraid to declare a nationwide State of Emergency as this would pose a significant risk to cancellation of the Olympics which is now, as we all know, the sacred cow of the LDP and has priority over the safety of Japanese citizens.

Words, Words, and more Words..meaningless words.

Agree with ALL of the above. Add: the public have been asking for more concrete measures and good leadership since this crisis started. Yet, here we are. Adding these 5 cities to a meaningless non-binding "state of emergency" will do absolutely nothing.

Requesting bars/restaurants close early and then stop selling alcohol WILL not solve this crisis. I wonder which idiot "expert" came up with that bright idea?

Yet, here we are. Adding these 5 cities to a meaningless non-binding "state of emergency" will do absolutely nothing.

Requesting bars/restaurants close early and then stop selling alcohol WILL not solve this crisis. 

absolutely. get people working from home, students to do home schooling and shut down the schools, and do a proper lockdown for just 2-3 weeks and you will see the numbers go down

Things here in Okayama were fine, just fine - sometimes only 20 cases a day in a city of 1 million, until Golden Week. Roads and parking lots were full of cars with out of prefecture tags that whole week. It seems people thought, "Hey, corona is pretty bad where we are but Okayama has a low rate so let's go there." Now, the kids' 運動会, which were supposed to be next weekend, were postponed till fall, sports teams and tournaments shut down, restaurants closing...Thank you to the rest of Japan.

A little too late for more theatre.

Yup! Only as tough as the government can be.

And so the circus continues....

Japan cannot handle crisis after crisis after crisis.....Lack of lateral thinking and thinking outside the box. Problem is part cultural, part education. Cultural because no one questions anything, education because it’s all about rote learning.

More deeply unpopular measures with lackluster efficacy to make up the complete failure to put forward an easy, safe and effective vaccination program.

Our daily dose of proof how inept and incompetant this LDP regime is.

Japan to impose tougher anti-virus restrictions in 5 more prefectures

More no-measures.

Talking about concrete measures...:

Now that the Japanese Medical Association has officially requested the Olympics to be cancelled, will it be done, or do we recognize IOC has the power in Japan?

If so, can we proceed with saving billions of taxpayers money with the whole LDP crew being dismissed?

It's no better in the USA. So many establishments are resuming and opening up but I can see that the virus isn't abating well enough yet for the Olympics, and around the world the Islamic festival of Eid is being subdued with so many mosques shut down.

We need longer restrictions and they should be enforced. How the hell can we tell if everyone at a gathering event is vaccinated or not, esp. when there's so many CoVidiots telling lies about it all.

Delay the Olympics until next year.

Tougher? As in closing shops at 7pm instead of 8pm? And a bit more urging?

Starpunk, do you actually know anyone, even a single person, who has received a vaccination in this country? That will strongly suggest that not everyone at a gathering has been vaccinated, and probably not even a single person.

?? Uh Ishikawa already has emergency guidelines asking eateries to close by 8PM in Kanazawa and 9PM everywhere else and to stop serving alcohol an hour before those closing times.

gaijintravellerToday  08:48 am JST

Starpunk, do you actually know anyone, even a single person, who has received a vaccination in this country? That will strongly suggest that not everyone at a gathering has been vaccinated, and probably not even a single person.

No. That's why we need to keep the restrictions up. If we don't pull ourselves together, it'll be lingering on longer and more people will get ill. Germany has cancelled their Oktoberfest again this year. Muslim-majority nations right now are celebrating Eid subdued with most mosques shut down. Many entertainment tours are delayed until at least September. The band Genesis has delayed their tour for a year and may have to again. India is really reeling from it now, big time.

This virus isn't over until it's over. We still have 8 billion people to vaccinate.

Japan is one of the worst countries in the world to handle this crisis since their entire work culture generally involves spending long amounts of time crammed on trains before going in to offices for over ten hours at a time. Then passing pieces of paper around and stamping them before faxing them off somewhere.

Then convening to an izakaya to get drunk together.

I don’t think companies or the government want people working from home en masse since it would demonstrate to people the inefficiency and pointlessness of their whole working existence.

Delay the Olympics until next year.

Easier said than done. There are people who contracted with the developers of the Olympic villiage to move into those apartments after the Olympics were finished last year. They planned on moving in and ended contracts with their current housing agencies, in the belief that they could move, and start paying the mortgages.

Now they have to wait until they finish this year, but from previous news reports, have been paying their mortgages, without being able to move in.

This is just one problem, in a host of them, by delaying them again.

They only option is to cancel them outright.

Oh dont forget that next February is the winter games in China too!

If this country is a functioning democracy the LDP would be doomed due to the colossal pandemic failure response. How can Taiwan get it so right and Japan so wrong? The LDP deserves to be voted out but it will not happen. They let the Fukushima disaster happened and suffered no consequences back then either. Japan is trapped by its own horrible government management.

Out of control.

Well a lot of us think those measures are not enough and question the Covid-19 cases numbers. What is actually pretty scary is to think of what will happen after they lift the measure, as vaccination will not have made significant progress by beginning of June.

i am pretty sure several salary men are in the starting blocks and will run faster than Usain Bolt to the first nomikai organized to celebrate the victory over the 4th waves and…we know what happens next…

Yet another reason to postpone the Olympic games again.

Asking restaurants to close at 20:00hrs or stop serving alcohol at that time makes no sense at all!

I think the reasoning is that if people can't linger over their meals, and can't have a drink with it, they will opt instead for a take-away or home cooking so the restaurant will be empty; and because they have not actually been ordered to close, the restaurants can expect no financial help from the government.

It's a half-baked, penny-pinching and totally ineffective (obviously, just lookit the infection numbers) way of dealing with the pandemic, par for the LDP course.

What? State of Emergency again? We are just going round in circles, achieving nothing. Since the Japanese government are very reluctant to actually, you know, vaccinate anyone unless you are a town Mayor, all is hopeless . And yes cancel those damn olympics!

SOE? I'm sure the virus is running scared now!

Indifference rather than ineptitude. In a culture in which hard work is considered the highest virtue and socialising an indulgence (or part of your work commitment), it's easy for the leadership to pretend they're taking measures by discouraging socialising. Also, having people still go to work means that their corporate friends' profits don't suffer too much.

The only good thing is that I see a lot of people irl starting to see through it. Let's hope it lasts (people aware of the govt's games, not the SOE, of course).

State of Emberrassy

More, more, more..

More cities and prefectures have been put under emergency rule. Where is Japan heading as Tokyo Olympics is drawing nearer and nearer?

Damned if the Games would be withdrawn, equally damned if it is held..

I would be extremely surprised, staggered in fact if this state of emergency only lasted until the end of May. You are almost guarantee they will continue it well into June or beyond.

Possibly until the start of their precious Olympic games.

“absolutely. get people working from home, students to do home schooling and shut down the schools, and do a proper lockdown for just 2-3 weeks and you will see the numbers go down”

While the suicide rate goes up, domestic violence increases...and cases increase back up as soon as it ends.

Not the answer

“Conbini owners are gonna be really happy.”

Yep, everyone is going to just binge drink on the streets and in parks.

Stop combinis selling? You create a black market.

People have had enough of the measures.

The fact is simply this: what is required is the inoculation of the population with any of the tested & functional vaccines. Otherwise, it is moot, the virus will slowly or with greater speed burn itself through the country - over a period of years - this already being month 18.

Individuals advocating a complete lockdown for weeks or months, have little understanding of vectors or the transmission of a disease that has absolutely no natural immunity. All it will accomplish is a temporary reduction in the numbers. Look at any of the several charts marking the daily and cumulative rate of infection, it follows a pattern. Which is not to neglect that slowing down the rate of infection is important, as growing numbers has adverse impacts on the healthcare system. Draconian measures are not required to accomplish a diminishment of daily cases.

The state of emergencies, the previous incarnations limited the spread of the virus. It was effective.

Adherence to protocols, which includes social distancing, always wearing a mask in public or at private affairs, use of disinfectants, hand washing with soap, avoiding large gatherings, staying at home when not at work or school. All kept the epidemic at bay.

However, when students departing from school are walking down the street in a swarm that looks like an amoeba, 900% to 99% not wearing a mask or improperly, that IS a problem.

Anyone NOT wearing a mask on the train IS a problem.

At the moment, the measures undertaken are cosmetic and one might posit PR for the Olympics. If Suga, had not lifted the state of emergency in March, for an entire month, before re-instituting it prior to Golden Week, the numbers would have remained low. It is no coincidence, Suga lifted the ban, during Cherry Blossom Season.

Those who criticize the early closure of businesses serving alcohol offer a false tautology. Closing a alcohol serving facility at 7:00PM or 8:00PM (19:00 or 20:00) prevents its patronage. Most individuals arrive at their watering holes around 8:00PM. The imbibing of alcoholic beverages is known to reduce inhibitions. Folks get sloppy. And if it is a familiar or intimate setting, protocols are ignored and it is very difficult to consume a beverage while wearing a mask.

The ludicrous assertion, that the virus doesn't know 'what time it is' reflects a mind that ignores the substance of the reason for closing drinking establishments early.

Transmitting the viral infection to individuals who toil at drinking establishments insures a widespread route of infection due to the number of contacts.

A recent study, confirms that the primary route of infection is socializing (which would include drinking establishments) and the secondary route is at home by an individual who acquired the virus in a social setting.

It is a sensible policy. The alternative is closure and lockdown.

It’s a complete waste of effort as though the can ban booze and beg people to not go out for nonessential thing they are likely still going to drive to Tokyo if they want and so how does an urge prevent anything....

The United States is going maskless.

China allows vaccinated people to travel.

Japan is putting 3 more prefectures under state of emergency.

It's time to cut all the red tape and start mass vaccinations for real.

It's time to cut all the red tape and start mass vaccinations for real.

Let me guess, you dont live in Japan, AND more importantly, are totally unaware of the difficulties involved with your suggestion here?

In prefectures placed under the state of emergency, restaurants are being told to refrain from serving alcohol and to close by 8 p.m.

The new puritanism takes hold

@Richard: What do you think about shorter trains and less trains on these jammed commuter runs?

I survived COVID. (luckily)....

Again, I have to really thank the Saga health department for knowing what to do and taking quick action with me. Really stellar public care.

I was one of the 35 to 40+ daily here in Saga.

https://covid19japan.com/

You know.

Just open everything up maybe.

Let nature take its course on this 1% protein enhanced pathogen.

Its a lost cause at this point.

Meanwhile not to long ago . See the Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci exchange.

The good Doctor just sat there and lied and lied and lied some more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MndwrOzDvo

Obviously,

We are in a global cold virology war. Where pathogens are boosted up to 15% in proteins in labs.

COVID-19 is only a 1% boosted pathogen.

Look how many are dead and gone. Imagine 15%?

Were getting close to the truth on COVID/China/ and my own country's role in it all. Which the U.S. maybe to blame for launching "virology warfare research" to begin with. And when we do get the truth. If ever we get it.

It's going to be a bombshell.

I think its not the nukes. Or some asteroid from space that's going to end us all.

It will be a pathogen/fungus/viral thing, that takes the human race out I think.

Japan, lets roll out the shots for heavens sake. Japan can do better.

“Unless we take the strongest measures possible” - do me a favour

TLTL = the horse has already bolted

Does anyone with an grain of logic honestly believe that Japan has as few cases as it claims?

Just the following makes zero sense.

According to the data collected by Tokyo Keizai, yesterday in all of Japan here are the total number of covid tests done:

Public health centre 8,117

Private testing 32,108

Universities 3,605

Medical institutions 19,662

Total 63,532

Just to compare, Ontario Canada is conducting 60,000 tests a day and had about the same number of positive cases as all of Japan

So Japan tests 60,000 and on average has around 3,000 positive

Ontario test 60,000 and has around 3,000 positive.

But Ontario is only 14 million people

Japan has 126 million people.

So Japan's low numbers of cases is not really low because the same number of people tested gets the same results.

So taking the simple and logical view, if Japan tested 60,000 for every 14 million like the population of Ontario we could expect to see 9 times the number of cases as a result. Oh and Ontario is under a fairly strict lockdown.

It is not logical that in a place with 126 million people they are testing the same number of people as a place with only 14 million.

https://toyokeizai.net/sp/visual/tko/covid19/en.html

Updated for real numbers for today, not the little blurb JT puts up or NHK tv

Somebody really needs to explain to them that their SOEs are doing very little to control the spread of the virus.

Places in later afternoon in Hiroshima were pretty empty last week. Looked like people were trying to social distance.

If you travel and do it safely no reason not too do so. Life should not be jail.

Too Little Too Late. AGAIN

“However, when students departing from school are walking down the street in a swarm that looks like an amoeba, 900% to 99% not wearing a mask or improperly, that IS a problem. 

Anyone NOT wearing a mask on the train IS a problem.”

And?