I want the government to seriously consider legal measures, including lockdown-like restrictions on movements.

Instead of all these stupid pronouncements and urgent urging which have no effect, it would be far better people to just turn off the air-conditioning (if possible) open their windows and make their homes and offices less habitable for the virus.

Covid pandemic is in fact fear pandemic.

It is an introduction to digital enslavement.

Covid danger is null compared to what digital enslavement (social scores, exclusive digital currency, vaccine passport, apps like OCHA and COCOA) wil bring us.

Lockdowns can be very effective measures, as long as they are done rationally and appropriately, for Japan unfortunately it is not the case.

very little is done rationally and appropriately

@JeffLee,

Great reply.

I totally forgot about that.

I am glad that you are always on the ball!

Sorry Nagano Governor, I already booked an awesome holiday in Eastern Hokkaido and don't feel like canceling it, same as the central and Tokyo governments didn't feel like canceling the Olympics, if they went ahead with their event things aren't that bad, are they?

So I will continue to cross prefectural borders whenever I please.

I'm curious, has anyone here actually used their Abenomask (as a mask)?

It's funny you should say that. I did wonder why the government put a pack of sanitary towels in my mailbox. They were absolutely useless.

Indeed. If anything, lockdowns will just end up delaying herd immunity.

The whole purpose is to save lives, delaying herd immunity is perfectly justified if less unnecessary deaths are caused thanks to that delay. The point has never been to wait for the virus to go away but to prevent deaths by spacing the transmission and letting people acquire immunity without the risks of the infection thanks to vaccines.

Can't do that. Remember the constitution?

Yes you can. Remember Fukushima? Residents ordered out of their homes and communities indefinitely. "Lock outs" are certainly legal and used frequently in Japan -- and so are lockdowns.

Constition's Article 13 states that “public welfare” is the highest consideration of all law and government action. And this outbreak of disease is certainly a case of "public welfare."

What a stupid thing to request at this point in time. Millions of people have been fully vaccinated and pose very little risk of transmitting the virus. In particular, pretty much everyone over 65. They'll bring much needed cash to places like Nagano. But I guess you'd rather just ask for a taxpayer funded bailout instead.

@Thomas Goodtime. Seriously interested. Why would lockdown be 'amazing' For whom?

I agree about the socialising but....

I assume you also support the Government properly supporting Restaurants, Bars, Food Trucks, Bento Sellers etc? A Governor from the backwaters of Japan doesn't carry the weight to even have this opinion.

you have to get it right-virus will not go away if you will lock people at home!

Indeed. If anything, lockdowns will just end up delaying herd immunity.

or will you "solve" this with another 100.000jpy per head after months long "consideration" and also will send one piece of abenomask as before?

I'm curious, has anyone here actually used their Abenomask (as a mask)?

He's only saying what lots of (non-tourism) people in Nagano think. Other inaka prefectures will be the same.

+1 to David's point about Fukushima and what the government can do to curtail freedoms.

It's hypocritical to ask the average Japanese publican to self-restrain whilst a handful of elite athletes and connected people get to have a rave in the middle of Tokyo. The impetus should be getting life back to normal for normal folk.

The government certainly does have some legal ability to restrict citizens' movements, as evidenced by the Fukushima exclusion zones.

For my part, I agree to stop drinking on my local beach this summer...in principal.

Can't lockdown, they'll just have to find more effective and sensible ways to deal with it

It may be surprising but what an economist says is a horribly bad standard to judge measures against the pandemic, specially when apparently he is uncapable of doing even the most elementary epidemiological analysis. If actual experts on the field reached the opposite conclusions it is clear who is in the wrong here.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6531/eabd9338

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78652-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82873-2

Lockdowns can be very effective measures, as long as they are done rationally and appropriately, for Japan unfortunately it is not the case.

So, for the last 18 months they’ve been relying on washing their hands boasting how the non-contact Japanese culture will save them. Now, they are caught in a runaway pandemic that is only going to continue to get worse without drastic measures. The constitution is left to interpretation and the government can include more strict measures into the state of emergency without changing the constitution.

Today 08:01 am JST

"Can't do that. Remember the constitution?"

That's why they want to change the constitution, to do whatever they like. (Although they generally ignore it even now).

to avoid summer holiday travel across prefectural borders

How many times more want these idiots to destroy the publics well deserved holiday?

Don't cross the prefectural borders during your well deserved vacation, but please cross the prefectural border to go to your stupid office who refused to implement home office.

And let Bach go to Hiroshima, Nagasaki...also no problem.

No wonder nobody follows anything what these idiots are saying.

And that is good!

So I assume the governor made this statement from home when he had a home office. Is that right?

In any case, he can call the government all he wants, but he will not be heard. The most we will hear is 'we have accepted the proposal, thank you for the proposal'.

Sorry, chump! After having a hundred thousand people enter the country and run around you and your ilk have ZERO credibily. Life goes and so must we.

Considering they still have done nothing to really push work from home, but had no problem creating a fine for bar and restaurant refusing to follow requests, I can imagine their lock-down being work excluding, business travel included.

A government, maybe. This government, no.

Good luck with that. Obon's coming, people are tired of half-hearted restrictions and a shambolic vaccine roll-out. Expect some high numbers over the next few weeks :o(

While this may be an effective idea, it is utterly ridiculous and totally hypocritical to "consider" while Japan is in the midst of hosting tens of thousands of foreign athletes, media, and IOC staff for a massive event.

As if nobody saw this whole uptick in infections coming weeks if not months ago (the "experts" were predicting exactly this increase way back in June when they pre-maturely ended the previous SOE)

Imagine an Australian-like or China-like lockdown during the Olympics and/or Paralympics (which go until Sept 5th) ?

Then again, the ineptitude on display by the gov never ceases to amaze, so locking down the general public while probably only allowing "vital workers" to move about, which would of course include all the "vital" Olympic volunteers and staff... yeah, that actually sounds like something they would do.

Can't do that. Remember the constitution?