Posted in: China locks down city of 1.2 million after three virus cases See in context
All these countries with a zero Covid policy will be the last to come out of this thing, Japan included. Just let the disease run it's course and be done with it. Literally, everyone I know has had Covid with little or no symptoms.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: 6 teens, one man arrested for throwing fire extinguisher at police car in Kochi See in context
It's good to know that every country has it's morons.
4 ( +5 / -1 )
Posted in: Omicron variant reported in 22 of Japan's prefectures See in context
Far more contagious and far less serious. This is what we need to end this thing. In the USA most people are ignoring the disease and going on like normal. That is why the CDC changed the 10 day quarantine to 5 days. Americans will be the first to get through Covid as the disease will burn out of its hosts. But, those Asian countries who have not come to understand the futility of fighting this disease will suffer a prolonged engagement which will end in a wrenching decision between medical safety and economic decline. No matter how hard a country tries to resist, in the end it's just "live and let die" then life goes on.
1 ( +5 / -4 )
Posted in: Tokyo finds Omicron case in U.S. arrival isolating at home See in context
A good example on how Japanese refuse to comply with the rules of thier own country. She should be fined and have her passport taken away. Actually, all Japanese should be banned from any international travel.
-1 ( +7 / -8 )
Posted in: Japan confirms 4th case of Omicron variant infection See in context
The best thing that could happen is if Omicron were to purge out the more dangerous Delta variant. Since it spreads faster this is possible. This is the natural process these things take and it's apparently happening. However, if we keep interfering with the spread by vacinating and isolating this thing will go on for years. This may have been the process that the Spanish flu took on it's way to extinction. It evolved into a benign illness and then suddenly disappeared.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan starts accepting requests for eased COVID quarantine rule See in context
Bureaucracy blunts the impact of this new rule. First, there are weeks of paperwork from the sponsoring company in Japan. Then, that foreign individual needs to apply for a visa in his/her home country. In Los Angeles for example, there is a three week wait for an appointment. After arriving, the traveler must quaranteen for 3 days and then still not use public transportation for 10 days during which time he /she must be tested 2 times. Then, at some time during the visit, the Japanese company has to submit a letter stating that their guest is behaving properly. ALL of this process is done on paper and requires review. Japan has created the ultimate cluster f$#k. Enjoy your 2 day business trip.
3 ( +6 / -3 )
Posted in: Tokyo reports 66 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 484 See in context
These are good numbers. Forget the number of cases as like so many point out, there is very little testing. Still hospitalizations and deaths can't be denied. The numbers are all way down. I can even get better numbers if we isolate every single individual and close the country down completely but that would be the death of Japan. Covid is something that we have to live with. Let's work at getting the numbers down within the scenario of a fully functioning open society not an artificial one. There is no other practical option lest Japan waits until Covid is eradicated from the earth.
OK....low numbers, now what? Wait until they get lower? How low and for how long? What's next?
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Posted in: Gov't to boost hospital capacity to treat more COVID patients See in context
There are only 385 patients in all of Japan. Most of them over 80. What's the point now? The vaccination effort worked. It's over.
-12 ( +1 / -13 )
Posted in: 16 Afghan evacuees including aid agency workers arrive in Japan See in context
Wow..a whole 16 of them! There's a problem. They can't EVER go back! They don't even have Afghan passports. What is Japan to do? They will be forced to make them instant citizens!
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan to lift state of emergency nationwide See in context
The FDA recommended a booster for those over 65 and those at high risk. By high risk they mean people with compromised health not a high risk profession such as health care workers. Am I wrong?
-2 ( +0 / -2 )
Posted in: After virus-hit Olympics, public split over future Games in Japan See in context
Oh yeah one more thing. Japan probably won't get the Olympics for another 20 years so why even ask??
-2 ( +1 / -3 )
Posted in: After virus-hit Olympics, public split over future Games in Japan See in context
You have to remember that as you age you are less likely to show interest in big events like the Olympics. Certainly not in attending them. Japan has an aging population. Those poll results expose the thinking of old people, "hey you, get off my lawn"! If the same poll were parsed into age groups you would see that most young and middle aged people (who would actually attend the Olympics) would be in favor.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: N Korea slams U.S. over submarine deal; warns countermeasures See in context
North Korea's greatest defense asset is that they don't have anything anyone wants.
12 ( +13 / -1 )
Posted in: New Hong Kong electors decided with only 1 opposition member See in context
"Election" !!! Why bother at this point. Democracy already left the building.
23 ( +26 / -3 )
Posted in: Akihabara’s landmark 'meat building' being sold as pandemic continues to hit neighborhood hard See in context
So who in business is pushing the government to open the country for tourism? Japan has shut out the world for the last 18 months. They seem to think Covid19 is going to end some day rather than living with it.
8 ( +8 / -0 )
Posted in: Putin calls absence of Russia-Japan peace treaty 'nonsense' See in context
As far as I'm concerned, if you start a war, slaughter hundreds of thousands of people and then loose that war, you're lucky to be left with the entirety of your country much less worry about a few uninhabited islands. Count your blessings Japan. Don't need any treaty. Those islands are gone. Be thankful that's all they took.
2 ( +12 / -10 )
Posted in: 90-year-old ex-elite bureaucrat gets 5-year jail term over fatal Tokyo car crash See in context
In 2003 an 86 year old man drove his car into a farmers market held in Santa Monica California killing 10 people and injuring 70. In his confusion he continued to hit the gas thinking it was a brake. He was eventually found guilty of all counts but sentenced to probation because of his poor health. The state tried to enact new laws that required testing after a certain age but a strong senior lobby group successfully blocked it.
At least these incidents are rare, however with an aging population in Japan I don't think this is the last story we are going to hear.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Hong Kong dismisses business pushback over 'zero-COVID' strategy See in context
Hong Kong is betting on the wrong horse. This Lam Lady needs to go. Winter 2022?
Hong Kong is doomed.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Delta will charge unvaccinated employees $200 per month See in context
Maybe this will pave the way for any number of weighted health risks. No reason why a healthy fit person should not get a discounted rate on his insurance the same as driver without tickets gets on his auto insurance. This might also encourage people to get fit.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Firefighter arrested for marijuana possession See in context
Does this article mean that he was the only one arrested for pot this year? Please explain Japan Today.
0 ( +0 / -0 )
Posted in: Japan's top COVID-19 adviser criticizes Bach's revisit to Tokyo See in context
Japan needs to open their eyes and get out of this paranoia. It seems that they still don't understand that isolation is not going to solve the problem. One guy, the chief of the Olympic comittee can't come to the Olympics! Is this how Japanese think? My God, Japan will never open it's borders!
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Japan to expand state of emergency to 8 more prefectures See in context
All this and still no word on travel. No word on vaccine passports that will never get off the ground because Japan will not reciprocate. Half measures, no clear goal and no information. Most of the hospitals will not take Covid patients? The last time we saw this show was about Fukushima.
-4 ( +0 / -4 )
Posted in: Japan to tighten border controls on visitors from 3 U.S. states, Finland See in context
I don't think these daily positivity numbers mean much without knowing the testing numbers. A better indicator of Covid seriousness would be hospitalization numbers. Hospitalizations tell the true story.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: More than 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic, whether or not to wear a face mask is still a highly charged source of debate, confusion and anger around the world. Why do you think this is? See in context
I look at a face mask as a symbol of oppression. It is the modern day Burka.
-14 ( +12 / -26 )
Posted in: Bach urges Japanese to support Olympics See in context
Dear Tokyo-Engr,
Atheletes train for years to get a chance to participate in the Olympics. They come in and out of peak condition by plan. A plan made years in advance. You can't just postpone till later without changing the competitive color of the Olympics. This is not a car race where you can garage the car until later or release the new movie next Fall.
The Japanese are well known for their xenophobia as every expat knows. The few people who test positive from abroad will garner the wrath of Tokyo. Foreigners continue to play the role of scapegoat for now, but when the games are over and nothing has changed they will have to recon with Covid19 as has everyone. I've used the words "Live an Let Die" to make a point in the past. The only way Japan and the rest of the world can conquer Covid19 is to just get on with life.
btw...Japan my be the size of California but it contains a third the population of the United States.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Bach urges Japanese to support Olympics See in context
By world standards, Japan's infection rate is so low it's a non-issue. So why the big deal about the Olympics? Because government over reaction including everything from travel restrictions to regulations to lockdowns for the last year have placed fear into the Japanese people and now the ramifications of that fear are manifested in response to the Olympics.
As a comparison, per TSA, the United States receives about 200,000 visitors every day and no one cares. Japan is running in irrational fear mode.
-9 ( +3 / -12 )
Posted in: Fewer than 1,000 VIPs may attend Olympic opening ceremony See in context
This is a quote from Yokyoite worth re-posting:
The problem I think is that the continual blaming of the Olympics, which has not even started, draws away attention from the real causes.
The selective fear mongering on the Olympics, while we still pack into trains everyday shows how flawed the argument is.
I mean, unless you really do believe millions packed onto trains is safer than 5,000 people sat spaced outside in a 80,000 capacity stadium.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Daily tests, cardboard beds: 24 hours at Tokyo's Olympic Village See in context
An outrageous sham! Why do they even bother? There are 1100 cases of Covid in Tokyo each day regardless. This is an example of bureaucracy run wild. It's what happens when a bunch of bureaucrats are tasked to do something about something they can do nothing about. It is the epitome of the Japanese mind. I only hope the IOC and the atheletes push back. The Olympics were not intended as a caged rat competition. Japan has exposed themselves as cowardly sheep. Should of moved this venue to Florida.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Tokyo reports 830 new coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 2,386 See in context
This game of lockdown, vaccination, isolation, fear mongering, avoidance, political posturing, worldwide is only a precursor to the inevitable outcome. It's going to be herd immunity the slow way or herd immunity the fast way. The sooner we give up and heed the words of Paul McCartney the sooner this world will get back to normal. "Live and Let Die"
2 ( +5 / -3 )
Posted in: Japan retracts controversial policy over alcohol-serving restaurants See in context
Can someone please explain why Japanese use the phrase "in principal" in just about every written regulation?
20 ( +21 / -1 )
Posted in: Trump win likely to dampen Ishiba's ambitions for U.S. troop pact change
Posted in: International baseball season to end in Tokyo with Premier12 tournament
Posted in: Trump win likely to dampen Ishiba's ambitions for U.S. troop pact change
Posted in: Trump win likely to dampen Ishiba's ambitions for U.S. troop pact change