Bruce Chatwin comments

@nakanoguy

unfortunately, too many people, and the media, just focus on the infection rate, which merely reflects one data point. the more important data points are hospitalization rates, icu rates and number of deaths.

According to MHLW,

Okinawa has 227 beds suitable for Covid-19 patients. Okinawa has 477 active cases. Okinawa has an estimated bed occupancy rate of 210%

Fukuoka has 945 beds suitable for Covid-19 patients. Fukuoka has 1,073 active cases. Fukuoka has an estimated bed occupancy rate of 113%

Aichi has 1,800 beds suitable for Covid-19 patients. Aichi has 1,560 active cases. Aichi has an estimated bed occupancy rate of 86%

Tokyo has 3,970 beds suitable for Covid-19 patients. Tokyo has 3,265 active cases. Tokyo has an estimated bed occupancy rate of 82%

Osaka has 1,969 beds suitable for Covid-19 patients. Osaka has 1,509 active cases. Osaka has an estimated bed occupancy rate of 76%

if these remail low, then who cares if 1,000 people a day, most of whom are young people, get infected.

Who cares? Really? It must be liberating to have such a cavalier attitude.

So it should. That will never happen, though - it would have to be debated in the Diet and the right-wing nationalist crowd would easily kill the motion.

Yes, you're right. Nippon Kaigi, aka the LDP, would kill the motion.

The names of 21,181 Koreans, conscripted and forced to participate in the war, have been engraved on stones at Yaukuni since 1959, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. There was no attempt by Yasukuni to accommodate the wishes of the Koreans' families before "enshrining" them in Yasukuni. Tokyo District Court, after deliberating (delaying) for over five years, ruled in 2018 against 27 families requesting the removal of the names of their family members from Yasukuni.

Yasukuni is toxic; it should be replaced with a secular alternative.

Just what the world needs, another right-wing populist snake oil salesman. Yoshimura is a charlatan.

@ Monty,

You are calling for Japan to close its borders to the rest of the world.

Do you agree then that the rest of the world should close its borders to Japan?

Japan must keep its borders close for travelers and business men from overseas.

And should the rest of the world close its borders to Japan?

As long as the Republicans continue to undermine democracy, kill dissent and undermine the will of the people, there will be no democracy in the US.

Professor Kamikubo of Kyoto University said on TV today, there will be no 2nd wave coming. 90% of Japanese have immunity. Testing does not have meaning. Many will be found positive but they do not become serious. He said the virus infected most of the Japanese in the early stages of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Jan. to March or April. He said there is no problem people pass normal a life.

Professor Kamikubo? The oncologist?

Taking vitamin D supplements does not kill people, COVID does.

Please point out where I (or Dr. Fassnacht) stated or implied that taking Vitamin D supplements killed people. What is in question is whether or not vitamin D "has been proven to help protect against Covid19".

Pretty good data set out of Europe and New York that vitamin D deficiency results in higher case loads and much higher death rates.

Many studies vitamin D are association or observational studies. By definition, these studies cannot prove the causal relationship, but only point to mere correlations. Imagine two groups of 80-year-olds. One group is spry, active and does sports. If you compare them with another group living in nursing homes, the difference in vitamin D levels will be dramatic. Life expectancy would also be extremely different. But to try to explain the difference in fitness by vitamin D status alone is far too simplistic. "Vitamin D levels are a good measure of how sick someone is. But not more," said Martin Fassnacht, head of endocrinology at the University Hospital of Würzburg.

There have also been a number of studies showing a correlation between low vitD levels and dying from C19.

A research study carried out at the University of Hohenheim has now established a link between vitamin D deficiency, certain previous diseases, and severe cases of COVID-19.

According to the study, "there is a lot of evidence that several non-communicable diseases (high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome) are associated with low vitamin D plasma levels. These comorbidities, together with the often accompanying vitamin D deficiency, increase the risk of severe COVID-19 events."

"This statement is completely correct," said Martin Fassnacht, head of endocrinology at the University Hospital of Würzburg. However, he qualifies that it is a pure association, "i.e. a mere observation that these events occur together.

Dr. Fassnacht is very critical of the hype surrounding vitamin D, but not because he denies the vitamin serves important functions. However, studies on humans have not been able to show that vitamin D has the healing powers many often propagate.

"If you take a closer look, the hopes that the administration of vitamin D has a healing effect have not been confirmed so far," said Fassnacht.

According to Fassnacht, none of the intervention studies carried out to date -- that specifically examined the effect of vitamin D on various diseases -- has been able to confirm the previous association and laboratory studies or the presumed positive effect of vitamin D.

https://www.dw.com/en/vitamin-d-against-covid-19-more-help-or-hype/a-54089415

Deaths per million caused by the CCP Virus as of July 23 2020

CCP virus? Really? What a berk.

It is the fault of the idiots who ignore the initiatives, not the governments.

Some governments have been much better at formulating and communicating initiatives than others. In general, they understandably receive higher ratings from their constituents.

Charlie Foxtrot countries include most notably the US and the UK, the leaders of which appear to be incapable of organizing a birthday party, let alone a response to a pandemic.

Kekst CNC survey methodology and full results:

Respondents from nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults in Great Britain, 1,000 adults in Sweden, 1,000 adults in Germany, 1,000 adults in United States, 1,000 adults in Japan and 1,000 adults in France. were asked how well or badly they thought any of the below countries (France, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, USA, Austria, HK, UAE, Switzerland, UK, Mainland China, Russia, Italy, Spain, S Korea, Germany) around the world had handled the coronavirus crisis overall.

Fieldwork took place on 1st June _ 5th June 2020.

Quotas and weights on gender, age, and region in each country.

Margins of error of +/- 3.3% for all countries.

Respondents from outside of the United States, see that nation to have handled the COVID-19 pandemic worse than any of the other 16 countries included in the survey. Only in the United States itself is there a view that others (Italy and Mainland China) have done a worse job.

The United States is seen to have handled COVID-19 badly by a net 73% by citizens of the UK and Germany, and net badly by 61%, 50% and 49% from France, Japan and Sweden respectively. Citizens of the United States rate their own country at net 15% badly. The UK, Mainland China, Russia, Italy and Spain are all rated negatively overall. The UK was the most critical of its own nation’s response, rating the response a net 26% badly.

Although there is generally positive feedback on the performance of public services and essential retailers through the pandemic, the performance of political leaders is not universally praised by their own citizens. The Japanese Prime Minister scores a net -33% in Japan, and The United States President a net -20% in the United States. There is also strong domestic criticism of the French president (net -17%) and UK Prime Minister (net -7%). These ratings are in complete contrast to that of the German Chancellor who scores +48% on the same metrics.

Government priorities

Looking over time, the survey found in all markets apart from Sweden, the gap between prioritising lives (even if that risks a major recession) and avoiding economic damage (even if that risks a major loss of life) is narrowing. In the United States, the gap has gone from 30 points last month to 22 now, from 16 points to 13 in Germany, from 44 to 30 points in Japan and from 59 points to 41 in the UK. Sweden, where lockdown measures have been less stringent has seen the gap widening over the past month, rising from 15 to 20 points.

The UK remains the country where the public is most adamant about the importance of saving lives (63%), regardless of economic damage.

https://www.kekstcnc.com/insights/germany-most-praised-united-states-most-criticised-for-global-covid-19-response

"Fieldwork took place on 1st June _ 5th June 2020"

I wonder how confident in their governments people are feeling now.

@divinda Today 07:03 am JST

How to get Coronavirus New Case Numbers:

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13562212

Thanks for passing on the link. Fascinating story.

Why not just use an Excel spreadsheet...

There appears not to be an infectious disease expert on the government's so-called expert advisory panel supposedly advising the government.

Kenji Shibuya, director of the Institute of Population Health at King's College, London: "this is not a scientific panel but simply another government committee managed by bureaucrats"

any Canadian that has dealt with immigration Canada knows far to well what is said or on the website and how things are actually done are two very different things.

I'm Canadian and that is not my experience.

I'd say more, but as it is probably better to be polite and end it here.

@Antiquesaving Today 02:54 pm JST

Canada has a case by case system it is not automatic that PR or spouses can enter or return to Canada.

Govt of Canada website:

"Will I be allowed to re-enter Canada if I’m a permanent resident?"

"Yes. If you’re a landed permanent resident and have no symptoms of COVID-19, you’re allowed to travel to Canada. If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, you will not be allowed to enter Canada by air. You can still enter at a land border."

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/permanent-residents.html

Private hospitals receive govt subsidies.

Pay the "bonuses" or lose the subsidies.

Better yet, nationalise the private hospitals.

According to The Commonwealth Fund, 85% of hospitals in Japan are private: "As of 2016, 15 percent of hospitals are owned by national or local governments or closely related agencies. The rest are private and nonprofit, some of which receive subsidies because they’ve been designated public interest medical institutions."

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/japan

Not sure, but it seems likely that the figure of 119 reported today is actually for Sunday July 12th.

@Peter Neil

Vacancy for all houses is 13% (mostly in rural areas because of the older people dying or moving in with family) and at an all time low of 4% for rental apartments.

Interesting data. I thought the situation was far more dire.

From the link you provided https://japanpropertycentral.com/tag/residential-housing-vacancy-rates-in-japan/

"The average occupancy rate of rental apartment buildings acquired by J-REITs has been steadily improving since 2010 and has exceeded levels last seen during the peak in 2008. In the second half of 2016 the average occupancy rate was 96%, a record high."

I'm not sure that the vacancy rate for Japanese real estate investment trusts is the same as vacancy rate for Japanese rental apartments, although it is perhaps a reasonable indicator.

The egregious spelling and grammar mistakes notwithstanding, this page appears to have some interesting info https://en.sekaiproperty.com/article/93/condominium-vacancy-rate-in-5-majour-cities-in-japan

J govt data available here

https://www.e-stat.go.jp/en/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=datalist&toukei=00200522&tstat=000001127155&cycle=0&tclass1=000001140366

The data here supports the 13.6% figure for the national vacancy rate for all housing in Japan.

Foreigners have been coming in. Not all of them, but some. Those with "extenuating circumstances".

And for those leaving after April 3, 2020? Are they getting back in?

@ Mr Kipling

The governments clarification on the re-entry for foreign nationals doesn’t seem to have be heard or understood.... You are now able to leave and return.

It'd be much appreciated if you could provide a source/link.

Welcome Olympic athletes, but permanent and long-term foreign residents of Japan still have discriminatory travel restrictions imposed on them.

This is news? Really?

Good luck in Osaka...

Hope Ito wins. Hasumi is an execrable person.

Japan has a daily maximum testing capacity of more than 27,000 cases. But actual tests being conducted is currently about 10,000 cases at the most

According to the data on the TokyoKeizai Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Situation Report in Japan site, since Feb 17, more than 10,000 people have been tested on one day exactly once, on May 7. More than 8,000 people have been tested on only 4 occasions. From Feb 17 through June 7, the daily average number of people tested is 2,357.

A take on Nissan's departure from the Spanish media:

Nissan has benefited from hefty subsidies and tax relief that should have come with an obligation toward the country hosting its production plants. Businesses that are going to benefit from state aid and tax deductions should be bound by provisions of permanence in the country, and by a negotiated preference to ensure the continuity of investment (and thus jobs) in the event of structural changes within the company. However, these conditions were not negotiated, and in the current situation, they have not been imposed, either. The common government practice in such cases has been to increase the benefits and the support for companies at the slightest sign of outsourcing on their part.

In a nutshell, government incompetence meets corporate greed.

Will the 1.5 billion yen include unemployment benefits paid to the fired workers?

The redundancy payments will be borne by Nissan while the unemployment benefits will be paid by the state, no?

Nissan seems to be consolidating its manufacturing base in its Sunderland operation, which seems odd given the Brexit situation.

Have to wonder if the Independentismo Catalán imbroglio has anything to do with Nissan's decision.