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Do you think that the state of emergency in Tokyo has become a state of complacency?

35 Comments
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Let's be honest here. There has never really been a state of emergency anywhere in Japan during the Pandemic.

66 ( +67 / -1 )

Yes...and rightfully so! You cannot expect the general population to lock down when you are hosting the world's biggest sports festival.

31 ( +34 / -3 )

Nobody cares what this useless government is saying anymore, people lost all trust and are fed up with contradictory meaningless statements.

30 ( +31 / -1 )

There has never been an emergency like in other countries. The current "state of emergency" is just an excuse to feign some action, but really worry about what the consequences of government action will be. No one wants to take responsibility and few want to take lessons from the experience of other countries that went through this some time ago. In this way, the government can say to its electorate 'look, we did something' and the simpler ones will believe it. Preach water and drink wine.

28 ( +28 / -0 )

I think it is very wrong for the Olympics to be held whilst the rest of Japan is under a state-of-emergency. The idea that the athletes can have a massive party whilst the rest of us have to restrain doesn't sit well with me and strikes me of political cover-ups.

18 ( +24 / -6 )

When the government tries to tell people to stay home in their 60 meter squared hot, cramped, 3ldk and watch the Olympics on TV as long as their are no more than four people for 90 minutes at a time, yet they hold big foodie parties and drink until the sun comes up, well the sun does not shine on mine like it does yours.

13 ( +17 / -4 )

State of emergency in Japan only means restaurants can't serve alcohol after 8pm. Yeah, that'll work just fine.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

There IS NO State of Emergency. There is ceremonial window-dressing.

Commuter trains are packed cheek-by-jowl every day, with at least 20% of oyajis still not wearing their masks over their noses.

Offices remain packed because Shachos can't comprehend the idea that remote working won't cause the end of civilisation.

Shopping centres, Amusement parks, Lunchtime restaurants, bars before the magical hour of 19:59 are thronging with people.

We have to pretend the magic Aegis of not having a drink in a pub after 8pm will magically protect us from the virus' infectivity. You can go to a coffee shop, though, if you like.

The virus only clocks on at 8pm, and even then only if you're enjoying a beer or two.

We will have 4,000 new cases in Tokyo again today. Just watch.

There IS NO state of emergency.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

clearly we are in a state of complete STUDPIDITY!

9 ( +11 / -2 )

what state of emergency?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

The so called state of emergency seems un-enforceable and ignored. I even know of a Medical Reiki "Healer" traveling to hold meetings and sessions and advising people that vaccination is harmful.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

When the government continuously insist that the virus is very difficult to spread, cannot be spread by air, and requires 15 minutes of unmasked close contact to even have a chance of infection, how many people you think will stay home with that kind of guidance? Most people simply think it is impossible to catch covid if they are wearing a mask and not french kissing strangers for 15 consecutive minutes.

The government barely even admit human to human transmission, without significant guidance changes since January of 2020.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Crisis fatigue, aka 'habituation'. Look around the world at the conditions in which Humans have found a way to 'live' and we'll see the very broad range of even daily horrors which we are capable of 'getting used to'. Eat! Drink! Be merry! For tomorrow...? Besides, young people are immortal, no? A famous American role model, AE Neuman, said it all: "What? ME worry?" Move along. Nuthin' to see here, folks...

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Watching over what the government has done to fight against the outbreak so far, it seems that the government is under the state of incompetency for the situation.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Nobody cares what this useless government is saying anymore, people lost all trust and are fed up with contradictory meaningless statements.

True but the LDP as we know it will win the next election comfortably and form the Government again! Tells you how gullible or stupid voters are…lol ! Nothing will change.

As many others have mentioned above the state of emergency means nothing in Japan! It’s only words and the only thing that occurs is restaurants closing at 8pm ( more crowded at earlier times so the whole purpose is defeated )!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Yes, but the public complacency is largely a response to government complacency (and incompetence).

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"Complacency"? More like a point of celebration. Not only in Tokyo, but I've seen more people out partying and what not in Osaka than before the pandemic began. Naming and shaming shops just brings them free advertising, and asking people to stay home while politicians go out and drink at night does nothing for the cause, either. People just completely ignore it now, and especially with the Olympics. Should have seen the bars around my town during the baseball game the other day.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Yes, but only because every state of emergency has been absolutely toothless. I continually have to explain to friends/family abroad that we have no real lockdown measures of any type, and that masks (while a useful tool!) are seen as a golden panacea that renders one immune to all disease. Outside of wearing masks, the country is basically exactly the same as it was two years ago.

We closed for one week in June 2020, otherwise my company has been operating totally as normal. I jam into a morning train just as packed as pre-pandemic times.

The single best thing the government could do would be find a way to cut down on the commuting traffick. You can ban all the alcohol you want, a busy restaurant is a blip compared to the vector that those trains are. A mask does nothing when I am cheek-to-cheek with my neighbors.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Sam WattersAug. 2 12:20 pm JST

Yes...and rightfully so! You cannot expect the general population to lock down when you are hosting the world's biggest sports festival.

Maybe that could be argued about the current SOE, but what about the SOE's before?

We can't use the Olympic excuse for ever.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Seemshypocritical in itself’ to criticize the obviously, hypocritical actions & behaviors of the IOCLDPJOC yet, frequently disregarding the requested local counter-measures and requests to restrain from unnecessary excursions during the pandemic?

- “What my wife and I do is travel. We travel every 5 weeks or so for 5 days at a time. Great time to travel. Nobody [else] doing it.” -

In addition, ‘*perhaps’ *more hypocritical is to continue asking for that same governments’ return to paying their travel subsidies and giving cash handouts?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

As I do not live in Tokyo, I said "I do not know". Thought I have kind of little doubt about media report.

@ Ubesh

The idea that the athletes can have a massive party

I think you kind of not get who is having a massive party, at least without being bothered for it.

Guides, in principle, can call it a day right after putting in up to nine hours, according to rules set by the organizers.

But some said it is not easy to decline foreign officials’ requests when they say they want to go out and celebrate.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14408545

For people having a doubt, yes "guides" as unpaid volunteer.

Athletes are kind of not in the same boat. They can get kicked out for daring to go out. And, if they catch covid they end up in some nice place with blocked windows.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210802/p2a/00m/0sp/017000c

You know the windows, medical related people kept saying no matter what the weather you have to open these to air out the room several time a day, are sealed shut.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If complacency has come, the government needs to continue to offer, make readily available, and stress the importance of vaccination, social distancing, mask wearing, etc . . . . Here is a website which may be of interest to those seeking vaccination,

https://v-sys.mhlw.go.jp/search/

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Yes because vaccines, and the on going Olympics have made 'State of Emergencies' useless. People are fed up.

Except for their elderly base, the government has been completely incompetent in distributing/administering vaccines in a timely manner.

The rest of us are left to fend for ourselves and being constantly reprimanded; dont drink, dont travel, dont work, dont do anything but wait!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

COVID-19 of Delta variant is going to destroy Japan again by the end of this year. Just look at the most vaccinated countries in the world, and they are already reeling from the pain of rising variants.

0 ( +15 / -15 )

Definitely for some people. With the delta variant out there, you've got to be out of your mind to go out eating and drinking indoors IMO. Yet, thousands of people are doing it.

Live and let die, I guess.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

A fine line between stoicism and stupidity

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I chose I don't know because I don't even know what the SOE entails anymore. SOE vs Quasi SOE- Its all static to me now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If Japan had a martial law/curfew, it would have done real state of emergency. Actually Japan doesn't have such a martial law to control people, so government has only way to ask people to stay home as possible as they can and nothing else it can do.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The State of Emergency is nothing more than a mirage - a way for J-Govt to pretend like they have any control over the country during a pandemic. "Requesting" people to work from home, not go out etc., it may have (kind of) worked for the first ever declared SoE but now it's just amusingly redundant. If you can't enforce it and dole out consequences for breaking these ordinances then people aren't going to comply 100%, especially if they keep hitting the rinse and repeat button on redeclaring SoEs. Seriously, they should have revised the Constitution way back sometime last year to allow for stricter measures but it's too little too late now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why be a test subject. In the US I am sure most people would take the Covid shot. Ok science says it protects your immune system. But you have some in the medical field who disagree, on the other hand in the US you have the FDA who approves all medication but has yet to approve the experimental drugs out now. That I think is what most people are waiting for, why take something that is not approved when you are reading and seeing the side effects these drugs are causing people who take them!!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's not really even close to a lockdown. I stop cars from other prefectures and make them go back. Fine people if they are not wearing a mask in public. Take stuff more serious... it's really a joke.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Let us compare cumulative rates of infections (number of infections from July 1 till the beginning days of August) for three cases:

Olympic Village (assumed population 100,000: 10,000 of athletes and 90,000 officials) 387/100,000=0.387%

(we should revise this figure if someone knows real population of O.V.)

Tokyo (population 13,960,000, cases 66,046) 0.473%

Japan (population 126,052,000; cases 156274) 0.124%

It looks like infection rate in Tokyo and Olympic Village are similar (Tokyo's is higher).

Vaccination does not prevent infections (see data from Israel and UK).

Looks like Delta infects mainly vaccinated.

Shutting down Tokyo in a way of lockdown makes no sense.

Going the way Sweden went makes sense.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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