Bruce Chatwin comments

The RCEP groups the 10 ASEAN states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- as well as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Let's take a look at some of the signatories to the agreement:

Brunei: absolute monarchy / authoritarian regime

Cambodia: authoritarian regime

Indonesia: deeply flawed democracy / kleptocracy

Laos: authoritarian regime

Malaysia: deeply flawed constitutional monarchy / kleptocracy

Myanmar: authoritarian regime

the Philippines: deeply flawed democracy / kleptocracy

Singapore: flawed democracy

Thailand: hybrid regime (still essentially a military dictatorship)

Vietnam: authoritarian regime

China: authoritarian regime

And then Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

What could possibly go wrong?

I still have not received my vaccination coupon. The Japanese bureaucracy is shockingly incompetent...except when it comes to hitting you up for taxes.

@Zaphod,

In one breath you say,

thanks for the unbiased, non-hysterical choice of words, journalist.

and in the next

do realize that you are part of a huge experiment

Seriously?

Japan could've used a certain drug starting with "I" to protect and treat people against this disease, but there's not enough money to be made from it. Lives be damned.

USFDA: Why You Should Not Use "I" to Treat or Prevent COVID-19

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

I have to wonder if the international attention this article is getting will have any effect on the politicians and bureaucrats so ineptly running the country.

Katsuya Takasu, an outspoken plastic surgeon, outspoken outrageously racist rants. Shame can’t start a petition to stop his ignorant hate talk, wouldn’t have to pay people to sign that.

You can, however, go on his Twitter feed and tell the Twitterverse what a bell-end he is:

https://twitter.com/katsuyatakasu

Thank you Tetsushi Sakamoto for the vacuous rhetoric.

BTW Tetsushi, could you please share some concrete examples of the countermeasures you are implementing?

Tetsushi Sakamoto is reportedly affiliated with the revisionist lobby Nippon Kaigi, as well as being a member of a group connected to Shintō Seiji Renmei .

I think people in Osaka are starting to stop caring. Fewer people wearing masks, the bar next to my building even just started doing business again. People are sick of the overblown panicking

As someone who lives in Osaka, I think the people are sick of bureaucratic ineptitude at every level of society. People in Osaka are getting sick and dying at a rate greater than anywhere else in Japan. A lot of us are sick of uninformed blowhards telling us everything is OK.

Tokyo reports 925 new coronavirus cases; record 578 in Aichi

Not to worry; Suga's advisor Takahashi assures us it's just a ripple. /s

@ false flag steve

Normality must never be considered a luxury. That’s why life must go on, including sporting events loved by millions around the globe. Anything else can slowly turn into oppression and tyranny.

Funnily enough, in a bizarre quirk of history, the 1940 Olympics were cancelled. Where were the 1940 Olympics to be held? In Tokyo. Why were they cancelled? Something about oppression and tyranny.

Down 135 from last Monday, but without knowing the number of people tested...

I can’t imagine how you think this event is so dangerous compared to say people on their daily commutes in packed trains.

The Olympics are an option; a luxury.

Going to work is a necessity for everyone I know.

Coates: "We're doing it so these kids can fulfill their dreams."

Translation: "We're doing it so we can fill our pockets."

And.... no breakdown by age groups for the "in serious condition".....

Looking forward to you sharing the info when you find it.

Under the contract, if the Olympics is postponed twice, or cancelled on the second time, the host country must pay (using our tax money) full compensation to the IOC, all major international sponsors and American companies who hold copyright rights for the media transmission. They can also demand compensation for expenses.we are not talking about peanuts here.

A big thanks to the chuckleheads who agreed to those conditions. I wonder what motivated them to agree to the conditions.

Coates' sordid history of corruption is emblematic of the rot that is at the heart of the IOC.

Cancel the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan covid 19 deaths 10,000

US 580,000

Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 population as of May 4, 2021

Japan: 8.23

Malaysia: 4.85

South Korea: 3.56

Taiwan: 0.05

Japan does not compare very well with its neighbours.

The rollout of coronavirus vaccines in Japan for people under 65 may begin in July 

"may begin in July..." So, July is the best-case scenario, with August or September or later being the more likely date for rollout.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday instructed Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to set up a large-scale vaccination center in Tokyo to deliver COVID-19 shots to the elderly faster.

The center will launch on May 24 and be staffed by Self-Defense Forces doctors and nurses, running for about three months, Kishi said at a press conference.

And nothing for the rest of the country. Why the focus on Tokyo at the expense of the rest of the country? Surely other areas would benefit as much or more from the same largesse. I wonder if it has anything to do with the benighted Olympics.

GDT,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. You are of course right that the perilous state of the medical system in Kansai doesn't just affect Covid patients.

people hospitalized with severe symptoms in Tokyo is 55

55 people among 14.000.000 is 0.0003%

That is all that need to be said.

The medical systems of Osaka, Hyogo, and Nara, are reportedly overwhelmed. Aichi, Mie, and Okinawa are also on the brink.

"In Osaka and Hyogo, the overall use rate of beds and the use rate of beds by patients in severe conditions are continuously increasing with the upsurge in number of new cases of infection, putting the medical care provision systems under very severe pressure."

https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/2019-ncov-e.html

Not to worry. The LDP geniuses at the helm have it all under control. /s

According to NHK, a paltry 157,864 people were vaccinated in Japan on April 22. At that rate, it will be 2 more years before everyone in Japan is vaccinated.

For some reason I am reminded of a horse and a barn door...

I don't get it. Why does Yoshimura "intend to ask"? He's been intending to ask for a week now. When's he actually going to get round to it?

As is well known, Japan was one of the three major signatories of the Tripartite Pact that formed the basis of the Axis alliance during World War II.

Not sure this is in fact well known.

autoimmune issues have shot up drastically after widespread use of vaccines"Took a little digging, but I fornd this to support your statement

There's no mention of autoimmune issues in the link you posted.

Trudeau and Canadian MP’s are doing disservice to some Canadians and disrespectful for even call it a genocide. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Thanks for sharing the talking points of the Chinese Communist Party propaganda machine.

China the little dog with the inferiority complex is barking again

The little dog that owns over $1 trillion of US debt?

Surely nothing diminishes the seven Olympic values of friendship, excellence, respect, courage, determination, inspiration and equality more than the host country saying "no foreigners allowed".

Cancel the damn Olympics.