Voices
in
Japan

quote of the day

The public, already used to the unrelenting spread of infections and tired of life under self-imposed restrictions, seems less scared of the virus than during the previous COVID-19 state of emergency between April and May last year. Fear drove people to exercise self-control during the previous state of emergency. We can't expect them to do the same this time.

20 Comments

University of Tokyo economics professor Tsutomu Watanabe, who has analyzed people's movements during the epidemic from smartphone location information. He says empathy and consideration are key to success in the fight against the coronavirus under a new Tokyo-area state of emergency amid receding fear of the virus.

© Jiji Press

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

20 Comments
Login to comment

Expect more infections / deaths then.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Another one paid to deliver comments every rational person already knows.

And overpaid with tax money to contribute to series of useless “ studies” .

2 ( +6 / -4 )

They are less scared of the virus because they know more about it. They realize it is not as bad as initially thought.

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

They are less scared of the virus because they know more about it. They realize it is not as bad as initially thought.

They know more than the health care experts that constantly ask for more care? no, that is not believable.

Science deniers that keep trying to sell the mistaken idea of things being fine are responsible for the lack of appropriate self-control of people looking for an easy way out.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

We can't expect them to do the same this time.

There you are: permission to do as you please. From Todai, no less.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

They realize it is not as bad as initially thought.

The childish optimism if the "It won't happen to me" brigade, you mean.

This kind of denial is why people still smoke, drink to excess, drink and drive, have unprotected sex, and continue with other habits which put themselves and people around them at risk. Because they haven't got Coronavirus, cancer, an STD, or organ failure, because they haven't had a serious accident and killed themselves and/or someone else, they believe they never will.

Foolish and dangerous behaviour. I hope that common sense and informed advice from specialists drives people to exercise self-control throughout this crisis.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

They know more than the health care experts that constantly ask for more care? no, that is not believable.

Science deniers that...

Today we know that if you get infected there is a good that you will have no symptoms, and that if you are young and have no comorbidities your chances of dying are extremely low. The overall death rate has also gone down as we learn how to treat it.

The science deniers are those who do not accept these obvious facts.

Things are not fine now, but to anyone who tests positive today, things appear finer than they would have had they been infected during the first SOE.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Then Japan will experience Covid like in Europe and the US then, unless the Government make the rules legally binding, with punishments for those who break them.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The science deniers are those who do not accept these obvious facts.

None of those facts justify being less careful, on the opposite they make much more necessary to take care, because even without symptoms you can still be contagious. Having only 1/100 chances of dying while still having higher chances of contributing to some other people death is still something anybody would want to avoid, specially when including what we know now about long term consequences of having the infection.

Only science deniers argue that we should have less care now, or that the disease is not dangerous as long as you don't belong to some specially vulnerable group. Health care professionals do not defend those points.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

The world is full of selfish a- holes. Why put yourself and those around you at risk. Listen to common sense. Grow up.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

This is basic human biology. Cortisol is meant to be released in short bursts to heighten the body’s fight-or-flight response in moments of fear and stress. Long-term high cortisol levels are toxic to the body, causing weight gain, diabetes, mental illness, and a host of other health problems. Normal people will drift out of a fear state over time.

Public health officials who relied on fear to contain the virus during the first wave cannot expect to use the same tool for the third wave. That would be denying the science of human biology. Each time we try to scare people with the same threat, fewer people will get scared. Health officials need a different approach.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Hopefully they will switch from fear to common sense then.

Ahh... Wait a minute...

6 ( +6 / -0 )

It’s because people are finally waking up and realizing what’s really going on

1 ( +5 / -4 )

The widespread underestimating of the virus , it’s new variants and non-understanding of exponential developments is responsible. Those half-hearted lockdowns or senseless restrictions are not even worth its name, the hope for vaccines and herd immunity are only as a effective as prayers to whatever you believe in, and will lead to nothing as well. You have to extinguish the virus with strictest measures and lockdowns , the sooner the better. And finally to everyone, maybe you are still young and less affected, but you will sooner than ever thought one of the endangered age groups. What will happen then? Exactly, you will then die earlier than necessary, because you ignored it, denied it, played it down now , laughed at it, and didn’t act in time.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

tired of life under self-imposed restrictions, seems less scared of the virus

We can't expect them to do the same this time.

And bang! Slapped on the face by the current wave of infections.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

What is the true infection fatallty rate (counting all who are infected in the deonominator) ? I have seen a range from 0.1% to 1.5%.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Then the public is ready for death.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I think there needs to be more information about longcovid, the long term damage caused by covid even after recovery would surely make people more wary.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites