David Van Cleef comments

The actual number does not matter, what matters is the percentage of positive results

Are these 29 cases from 30 tests, or 30000 tests? 

This is based on the results of 7822, for a positivity rate of 0.37%.

With small numbers relatively large variances day to day are expected. The more relevant figure to look at is the 7-day average, which smooths out such things.

For the not-enough-testing camp, this figure is based off of 3851 tests, for a positivity rate of 0.83%

No report of PCR tests conducted.

That figure of 26 is based on the results of 5627 cases, or a positivity rate of 0.46%. Too all the people complaining about too few tests: to what percent do you want to test down to 0.1? 0.01? The WHO says that 3-12% positivity rate is an indication of sufficient testing.

Testing source: https://catalog.data.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/dataset/t000010d0000000086

WHO recommendation: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcripts/who-audio-emergencies-coronavirus-press-conference-full-30mar2020.pdf

So the ratio of daily infections to (at-the-moment) hospitalization is about 1 to 1…?

Sounds fishy.

Not particularly, that figure is the number of people requiring a ventilator or ECMO, not the total number hospitalized. And most people in that situation require it for up to 14 days.

I wonder how many tests were taken over the last 24 hours to have such an amazingly low number?

According to Tokyo Metro Government figures, 4032, yielding an approximately a 1% positive rate, well under the level that WHO considers appropriate testing.

Source: https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/cards/number-of-tested

Given that Japan has gone 100% all-in with Pfizer for booster shots I fail to see why this is relevant news for JT.

Anyone going to raise the issue that these plastic dividers do more harm than good? 

How?

There have been some limited studies showing any benefit they give in stopping particles directly is outweighed by their detrimental effect on being able to ventilate air quickly. You get dead zones where air is not circulated.

48% are fully vaccinated, not 58%. Last Wednesday it was 46%.

If you read carefully, he said 58% of the eligible population, not the overall population. There are approximately 11 million children under 12 that are not eligible for vaccination at this time.

6 months to heal? I don't think anyone can ever 'heal' from sulfuric acid. Nasty.

I was burned on the chest with concentrated H2SO4 when working at a chemical plant in my younger days.

Inside of a year there was no visible scarring.

Point is pretty much moot now, there's shooting around the airport and all non-military flights have stopped operating. Either the embassy staff are out by this point or they're going to have to clench their nethers and hunker down for a while.

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

My ward (Edogawa) is ONLY accepting the applications by postal mail. No walk-ins.

A stateless child born in Japan is actually eligible for an easier expedited naturalization process as early as age 3 (its a clause right in Japan's nationality law). I wonder how many of these are intentionally hoping to exploit that special case.

The previous pandemic from 1918 lasted two years.

Why would it be necessary to have boosters for the rest of our lives?

Because in 1918 the world was not nearly as mobile as today. The only reason it spread as far as it did was the massive wave of troop movements home from europe after the war ended, which was pretty much a one-time event.

But yet Japan relaxes entry quarantine requirements from Vietnam a week ago...

Will this apply to those stationed in Japan at a US Military base who were vaccinated on base?

No, these will be pulling data from the japanese vaccination database (VRS) only.

Which originated in Britain.......Utter Nonsense!!! False, fake and deliberately politically motivated clap trap.

The variant was identified in the UK,

The Spanish Flu of 1918 actually came from the midwest US, not from Spain, but its still called the Spanish Flu.

Pokézombies are a much more serious hazard.

Visa waiver policy is not always reciprocal but based on the best interest of each country involved.

I can see Japan using this analogy to justify nonreciprocity on vaccination policy to themselves. I don't see why other countries would find it in their best interest though to agree though so this is likely going to go over like a fart in church.

Makes sense to wait a few more days until all relevant decisions are in and only have to handle refunds under a single consistent policy rather than take applications for lottery loser refunds, then a few days later have to process refunds for all events in their entirety if that's what's decided.

Both my wife and I should be (just barely - by 5 days for me and from the day before for her) fully vaccinated by the time of the event we've got tickets for, so still contemplating going if its possible.

These are AstraZeneca doses which Japan has had no plans of using on its own people. The government considers them second-tier status due to the higher levels of side-effects.

Another step back or in the wrong direction!

How is getting all the doses they have available into people's arms ASAP rather than stockpiling them until they risk spoilage a step in the wrong direction?

Are you saying you will receive your first in the next 3 days? If not, that's literally impossible to be fully vaccinated by end of July as you need 2 shots the minimum of 3 weeks apart and then a further 2 weeks to be considered fully vaccinated.

4 weeks apart for the Moderna they're using for corporate programs, 3 weeks is for Pfizer.

All things considered, who would want to go to any events?

I'll (just in time) be fully vaccinated by the time the one event I have tickets for rolls around, so I'll probably go if I'm allowed since at this point I doubt they're gonna refund anyone.

Look at all those empty seats. SMH.

Those empty chairs are an indication that there are no bottlenecks in the lines. It looks like its initial reception in the back, chairs to wait for paperwork checking (unused - good, no waiting), paperwork checking, chairs to wait for the actual jab (only a few queued - good, not much wait), the actual vaccination area and the observation area (which you can't see much of) in the foreground.

Got my first jab today at the office. Second one already scheduled in 4 weeks.

Whole process was orchestrated in exquisite detail. Get off elevator, go to reception station 1 (there were no less than 12 queues at each station), check all paperwork is present, get temperature checked. Go to station 2, have ID checked. Go to station 3, hand in local government coupon if you have one (I didn't, there was no issue with that). Get jabbed at station 4 (entire process at this point took less than 5 minutes), go to the massive area of 2m interval chairs to wait out the 15 minutes of observation.

Roughly a quarter of the 35,000 Australians stranded overseas are in India, which reported close to 400,000 cases on Friday and more than 200,000 total deaths.

The 35,000 figure is just the number of citizens actively trying to get back to OZ. The actual number of citizens overseas is much higher. And the number isn't going down, the miniscule quota that are being let back in barely enough to offset the people newly trying to repatriate.

Is alcohol truly the problem ???.

Its certainly a contributor.

What difference does alcohol make in the spreading of the coronavirus? Doesn't alcohol kill the virus?

Alcohol reduces inhibitions and makes people more likely to engage in riskier behaviour.