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Koike asks Tokyo restaurants serving alcohol to shorten opening hours for 3 weeks

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Covid19 is now wearing little watches to check the time?

Perhaps the businesses should put little signs on the doors that say "No Covid-19 Allowed."

19 ( +25 / -6 )

A miserable 20,000 a day for already struggling establishments. I expect many of them to just ignore the request, and rightly so.

3 ( +14 / -11 )

Koike, however, did not call for the exclusion of Tokyo from the central government's domestic travel subsidy program as the governors of Hokkaido and Osaka did for their areas, saying it was a decision that should be made by the central government.

True leaders make tough decisions. They don't pass them off.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

Yeah sure, that’s gonna happen. Everyone does realize she is saying these useless things because she needs to say SOMETHING. Unfortunately this is the best she could come up with.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

there's just a fatigue about the virus now. people are more careless and are beginning to ignore the warnings from local and regional governments. this does not bode well for winter.

those vaccines can't come fast enough, me thinks.

11 ( +15 / -4 )

Did the same thing 6 months ago and how did that work out? Right it didnt!

8 ( +12 / -4 )

The best part is that the numbers will magically “stabilise” after a few weeks of these “great measures”

7 ( +9 / -2 )

It's great that the government is finally starting to do something, but people are simply not getting the message even when it's during the day. Restaurants and cafes in Osaka seem to be meticulous about people using hand sanitizer before entering, but once inside people often take their masks off right away, speak loudly and LOL all over the place. I've also observed tables and menus not being wiped down properly. Since we're in the middle of a pandemic, it might also be time to temporarily stop the loud, enthusiastic welcome that you're given when you enter most places in Japan.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Koike has proven to be a big disappointment. She is , like all politicians by definition, selfish and calculated. And is preparing for a run as PM. And everything from pandemic to Olympics has to fit that purpose. Last time I have ever believed in a politician.

Suga is already showing signs he can not take the stress as topman just as Abe couldn’t but he had Suga as righthand and he deflected a lot away from Abe. Suga has no such person.

By the way, anyone knows what happened to Aso ? Have not seen him for weeks.

these “ measures” are to little too late. Lucky the vaccins are coming, the only hope now for us here in Japan

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Once again, Japanese politicians are acting like we are in week 1 instead of month 9 of this thing.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

The biggest threat to bars and restaurants is rent. Landlords must realise that they're complicit in their own misfortune if they do not temporarily share the pain that their tenants are going through.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

The metropolitan government believes the cut in business hours will prove effective in preventing infections, given that its previous request led to a decrease in the number of people in nightlife districts and a decline in new cases, Koike said.

Nope it didn't , testing was reduced especially in the nightlife districts of shinjuku and ikebukuro which were the only two nightlife districts that some testing was performed, why only two districts out of the myriad of nightlife districts in Tokyo and surrounding cities, that question was never asked.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Because the C-virus is only active at certain times hiding around waiting to pounce the hapless drunks.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

So, forcing people to cram an evening of drinking into fewer hours? No problem there... What could possibly go wrong.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

She can ask them all she likes, but without monetary compensation they will not do it.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I feel bad for the struggling business owners even with their efforts like installing clear curtains and limiting the amount of people that can sit by half by putting X marks on the seats, the government goes for the neck by instilling fear to the customers with this soft curfew... Never mind the rent, for food and drink businesses, checking the number of cases per day is like checking the weather now.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

The purpose behind this is to “force” the people going home earlier and to stop “overdrinking”.

If people overdrink, they completely lose their sensibility according personal preventions.

After eating dinner, the people go to Bars and Karaoke. Especially Japanese Salary Men to release stress.

But after too much drinking, people scream and shout, and stop wearing masks.

Koike wants the people go home instead of continue to go to Bars and Karaoke.

Of course that is not a 100% effective prevention, but it can help at least 20 to 30%.

And better doing this, than nothing.

I agree with Do the Hustle,

If the compensation payment is very low for the Bars and Clubs, many of them will not close.

But if I remember back in May, many Izakaya and Clubs in my area follows Koike’s request and they shut down from 10pm.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

So what happens if they just switch to serving non alcohol beer and soft drinks after 10pm - can they stay open?

When the response from leaders is weak and the financial support being offered is an insult, then businesses will look at exploiting loopholes in order to stay open.

If it’s necessary for them to close at 10pm (whatever difference that makes), then just say simply and directly ‘You must close at 10pm for 3 weeks. You will receive 400,000 for this inconvenience. If you remain open in defiance of this order you will be fined X amount. Please understand this is a necessary measure to stop the spread of the virus.’

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@HBJ

*‘You must close at 10pm for 3 weeks*

This is not possible in Japan.

There is a law in japan who forbid that.

Therefore the government or any other officials in Japan can only ask to follow her request.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

@kyronstavic

Moderator, why delete the post?

Because free speech is not allowed here.

If your post doesnt reflect the Moderators opinion, it will be delete!

Fully Control and Censorship!

Japantoday is similar to any other Website managed by the CCP!

10 ( +15 / -5 )

Many, many yeas ago I used to go bars in Roppongi and tachinomi bars in Shinbashi very often. But now I'm an old guy having difficulty going out there because of my bad legs albeit it's lucky in a way, I mean not to get infected with COVID-19. ;‑)

4 ( +6 / -2 )

If she wants to ban alcohol (mouth washes) so she should also ban alcohol hand washes. Why old people blame young people when it is them who should stay home?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

freelancegirl: Restaurants and cafes in Osaka seem to be meticulous about people using hand sanitizer before entering, but once inside people often take their masks off right away, speak loudly and LOL all over the place

I noticed the same thing. Almost everyone was talking and laughing at the top of their voices at each other in a really cramped tachinomi-ya.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga countered the view that the economy-boosting tourism campaign has caused the recent resurgence of coronavirus cases in the country by promoting greater movement of people.

Sorry but I have to disagree. Two people just came back to our prefecture with the virus from Osaka and I'm sure they were taking advantage of the program. They both had gone on travel packages and travelled all around Kansai.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Wash your hands, wear a mask, eat, drink, and be merry! Happy holidays!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

By the way, anyone knows what happened to Aso ? Have not seen him for weeks.

Yeah, he's doing exactly what he's always BEEN doing. Nothing.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Its a wonder business owners comply to these requests even at great costs to them

In many countries individuals don't even comply to urgings to wear masks, even if it costs them

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"The capital is in a very serious situation in terms of infections," Koike told a press conference. "I understand that the current situation makes it necessary for the imposition of further measures."

Unfortunately Koike does not elaborate on what a “serious situation” means.

Certainly many people are not dying on the streets nor in hospitals at a rate greater than normal.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan's virus response, said the next three weeks will be "crucial" to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect the country's medical system strained by the pandemic.

The virus has already spread so what on earth is Nishimura talking about.

And has the Japanese health system been strained?

No.

Again, I suggest anyone doubting this fact to go and take a cursory look at their local hospital.

The financial health of many hospitals is dire.

Most hospitals in Japan are actually in the red because there are so many of them.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

NEWS FLASH

Japanese scientists have been the first in the world to discover that the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates rapidly outside the human body when exposed to light at wavelengths typically emitted by neon tubes of the kind used in Kabuki-cho, Ginza and Roppongi.*

A scientist connected with the project said, "I first suspected something was up when I tested the lipstick stain on my labcoat collar after a boozy work do at Club Honey's. Being the inquisitive type, I took samples from the lipstick and noticed that the number of SARS-CoV-2 viruses doubled in 6 hours when exposed to light at the same wavelength as that of the light above the sofa in the back corner.

"Recognising that this discovery has important implications and could get me a promotion at work, a couple of co-workers and I visited several clubs over the next two weeks to test this theory. And voila! We were onto something big."

The findings were passed on to the Tokyo and national governments, leading to the newly announced early shutdown urge.

The scientist has requested anonymity to avoid a scowling from his wife and bans from the clubs he visited, but has been nominated for a Nobel Prize for the discovery.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

‘You must close at 10pm for 3 weeks

This is not possible in Japan.

There is a law in japan who forbid that.

Therefore the government or any other officials in Japan can only ask to follow her request

Really? I was under the impression that Japan is only asking and not forcing because they don't want to be legally bound to help out these businesses financially. Very sly.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They may not force establishments to close but can they at least force people to wear masks on public transport, like Hong Kong and London? I took the train the other day, the first time in a very very long time. After 10 minutes, I got up and moved after some guy without a mask sat right next to me. Worse than sitting next to a gaijin! Then later on, a slipper-wearing ojiisan sat opposite me. No mask again. Really kimochi-warui.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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