Ani comments

Oh, but they used the latest technology to gather the data from thousands of sources - FAX machines. I wonder if that could have been a reason though... unfair to blame the venerable workhorses, churning out sheet after sheet of printed paper to the best of their abilities... may their empty cartridges and worn out printer heads rest in peace.

This is a good step, and actually, should be extended to 14 days with strict monitoring for ANYONE entering Japan (citizen or not). Any violation of the quarantine should incur serious consequences, including deportation.

Having said that, the biggest concern for Japan right now is the domestic spread of the infection that is already in full swing and has nothing to do with the newest variants. Unless tighter measures are taken, things will continue to remain unstable and will actually become a whole lot worse if the Olympics trigger multiple clusters.

So no legal action for misuse of public funds? Oh wait.. they bowed and said sorry. Now they can be forgiven.

Anyone who thinks the situation is getting better is either ignorant or living in complete denial, or worse. If you have any doubts about how bad things are and could get in the weeks to come, please read this article on Mainichi - https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210115/p2a/00m/0na/006000c

The fact is that stricter measures are required and the Govt needs to appropriately compensate individuals and businesses adversely affected by such measures. Meanwhile, they really need to speed up the vaccination process... it's shameful that such a developed country is lagging behind so miserably in this regard....

Let's see if the govt has the will and the courage to put serious pressure on the traditional ageing Japanese companies so that they allow their employees to work from home. But no, that will never happen, because when the response is "working from home is not part of Japanese culture", that's usually the end of the conversation. Don't blame average people for doing what they need to make sure they can pay their bills, secure their families and protect their careers. Blame the companies that refuse to come out of the 16th century and catch up with modern technology and ways of working. None of the big politicians and decision-makers use local transportation. They are driven around everywhere in the safety of expensive cars sponsored by taxpayer money. Unfortunately, the vast majority of office workers don't have that luxury, so unless their employers behave like responsible members of society, they are left with no choice.

It is shameful that during the worst phase of this crisis, one of the richest and most developed cities in the world is struggling to conduct even 10,000 daily tests consistently. This lethargic approach towards crisis management is baffling... What's the end game here?

The biggest concern is the rising number of serious cases. If they can't bring that down, we are heading towards a very dangerous phase. :(

I wonder there's no mention of Rakuten Mobile in this article, considering they were the first to bring in low-priced packages and will potentially be the biggest threat to the established players in the years to come. Strange reporting...

Well, considering the number of cases in Tokyo is expected to cross 800 today, obviously, we are beyond the point of "doing everything possible before it's too late"...

Important to keep track of the 7 day average, which gives a more accurate view of the trend. As it gets colder, the number of infections will increase, but it is critical that the number serious cases and deaths remains low. Things will stay this way as long as a viable vaccine is not available. This is life for the foreseeable future...

Isn't it true that these masks are not very effective for viruses and are more suited to protect against bacteria?

There is so much going on in the world now. There are so many critical conversations and social transitions taking place. I think the Olympics should be cancelled to allow for funds, time, infrastructure, mindspace and political will to be directed towards making changes in society that will help make this world a better place. The time just isn't right for a wasteful celebratory event like the Olympics.

Testing, testing, testing. No matter how lucky Japan may have been to fend off a disaster the first time, if they don't test aggressively, this will just continue to be an unpredictable situation for months to come. The testing capacity must be utilized to its maximum, especially in the bigger cities like Tokyo.

No cabin baggage: What about families with kids who need to carry essentials with them? What about business travelers and students who needs to carry their laptops or other important equipment?

Immunity passports: There is no evidence of immunity yet, so immunity passports are not even an option in the short term.

Masks and gloves: Very limited effectiveness in the absence of proper social distancing and ventilation.

On-the-spot testing: May work if it can be done reliably in a few minutes, rather than hours. But the accuracy of such tests has to be close to 100% otherwise the whole exercise will be a waste.

Unless and until a vaccine is found and most of the global population gets vaccinated, flying will be a nightmare and a huge health risk. Businesses will no doubt allow travel for essential reasons only as remote working and video-conferencing will become the new normal accepted everywhere. Travel for leisure will most likely take a long time to pick up and tourists will stay away due to fears of getting infected and expectations of significant inconveniences. So in short, things don't look too good for the travel industry for quite some time to come.

Keep thinking, Japan. Keep thinking. Thinking always brings good ideas. At this rate of thinking, I am sure the powers that be will come up with one idea by the end of this decade. And since that idea would have been rendered obsolete by then, they would need even more time to do even more thinking. So the circle of thought continues.

One question: What has changed in Japan since the emergency was initially announced? Why is it okay to open up some places NOW but it was not NOT okay to keep them open the past month? I am assuming there is a logical explanation, so can someone please spell it out so that we all understand? Thank you.

They dont want to have to pay for Zoom! Not to mention, press would have a hard time filming them doing their jobs!

So it's better to create ideal conditions for a "cluster" to form, contradicting the very basic guidelines the Govt itself is pushing. A large group of people standing or sitting in close proximity in a closed room with no natural ventilation... just perfect! #facepalm

Why do so many people have to assemble in one room like this? Why can't they just do it over a video call and make the announcements online via video? Japan just doesn't grasp the idea of social distancing...

The largest chunk of responsibility and blame lies with the businesses in Japan that continue to compel their employees to come to the office to work, failing which, they will either lose their pay or their jobs. A business culture steeped in archaic practices and tunnel-visioned bosses will always opt for the easiest and most risk-free option. Why invest in the health and well-being of employees all of a sudden when these borderline brutal work practices have delivered wealth and success for decades? Don't blame the workers who are forced to ignore the "stay at home" calls - they have their own battles to fight and stomachs to feed. Blame the corrupt and disconnected bosses who refuse to change their ways for the greater good. And unless that changes, innocent people will pay the price, at times, even with their very lives...

Weekend schedule: Wear one baby cloth mask provided by Govt and stay home (unless you need to take your family and the dog and the cat and the pigeon to the local store to buy food).

Weekday schedule: Wear the other baby cloth mask, put on your suit, pick up your bag and get into the rush hour train to go to the office, otherwise risk losing your pay (or even your job) because your bosses are pricks who don't trust you enough to let you work from home or don't bother to put in place the infrastructure needed to make that happen.

Japan will become the sample case used by experts for decades to come when talking about how to completely screw up the handling of an unprecedented crisis. Okay, so Japan did not have something like the CDC in the US. But it's been more than 4 months now since the crisis started... is it not enough time for an advanced country like Japan to put together a team of experts and create a temporary CDC that is entrusted with deciding how the crisis is dealt with and the recommending to the Govt what actions need to be taken to prevent a complete healthcare collapse? Why do the politicians continue to lead a response that they are not qualified to handle? Would you call an electrician to conduct brain surgery because a mesh of wires and nerves are "somewhat similar"?

I remember back in 2011, the media was criticized for underplaying the seriousness of the Fukushima crisis. One of the points that came up was the tone of voice used by TV commentators which was deemed to be "too calm" and failed to convey the true mood. Now, with the coronavirus crisis, even though the media (at least in the last few days) and the Governors are being more and more aggressive in the tone of their messaging, the people seem to be taking things way too easily. Under current conditions, most of these people in the photograph have no reason to be out and about as if everything is perfectly normal. If they hope to enjoy more sunny days and lovely weather in the near future, they should stay at home or exercise maximum possible physical distancing now. It is rather shameful that people in Japan are ignoring the risks of this virus. I really don't understand what they are thinking... I hope and pray that better sense prevails very very soon. Come on, Japan... don't screw this up...

This is corruption that is seen more in the so-called "third world countries". How has Japan reduced itself to this level? Unbelievable...

Effectively, what's going to happen is that more number of people will gather together in izakayas within a shorter period of time. Not sure if this strategy will work, but seems like the Govt legally cannot do more than this. Let's hope people themselves understand the risks and behave in a responsible manner.

@Tom

I took the train down to surf this morning but waves not good. Lots of kids at the beach...socializing. Walked to Fujisawa from there. Businesses all open. Took the express back to Chuorinkan and walked to Yamato station. All businesses open as usual.

What a great emergency response.

This is why flu spreads so quickly as well.

Unless you believe that surfing is an essential function, your action seems to be an even worse violation of the govt request than people going to work or kids playing. You have just proved that diseases spread more rapidly because of reckless human behaviour. You should be ashamed of yourself.

No noticeable change in Tokyo as of 9:30 this morning compared to yesterday. Traffic as usual on the roads... people going about doing their own thing. Salarymen in suits keep their heads down as they trudge to work. It's like the state of emergency was a mere formality that has been mostly ignored by the people. Asking people to cooperate won't work. Stricter measures are required, even if that means curtailing a few rights for a limited period of time. If people don't stay alive, their rights won't have much value in any case. Wake up Japan. Look around and see what's going on around the world. Thousands are dying.... all of that could happen here as well if people continue to be so stubborn. :(

Let's just hope this is not too little too late. Fingers crossed... hopefully, Japan will come through this without experiencing the misery that several other countries are facing now. :(

This was on Zero News channel 4 last night. The professor from Juntendo University said continual increases of 70, 80 per day would not be sufficient cause for a state of emergency but the key word is “sudden” increase and he actually said 200 as an example.

But if these so-called experts have been following what's happening in other countries, by the time this "sudden increase" happens, it is too late... from that point on, the infection rates explode and it becomes impossible to catch up and bring them under control. Declaring the emergency would be aimed at preventing that sudden surge from happening. There's no logic to their wait and watch approach.

Can anyone clarify what is the threshold for the emergency to be declared? 200-300 cases per day? A few hundred deaths a week? What is the criteria that the Govt is applying in this critical decision making process?

2 reusable cloth masks per household will solve all the problems. Just the kind of "stimulus package" the country needs. The wagyu coupon will be the clincher though. Oh Japan...........

A cash handout of 10,000 Yen per head after the Lehman shock had virtually no positive impact on the economy. The coupons that were being considered were for travel vouchers and Wa-gyu. Not sure how that can be considered helpful in day-to-day life. The most useful thing to do would be to waive off Inhabitant Taxes for at least one quarter and provide additional tax breaks based on specific income slabs. The maximum amount of care must be taken to ensure that part-time workers who rely completely on daily wages are protected first, which is often not the case.