Thomas comments

Painkiller is flat out wrong on some many points there.

Tokyo’s number today is lower than it was same day last week and much lower than the high 30k numbers a few weeks ago. Super high NOT.

Same deal with Okinawa’s number compared to the same day last week. It’s going down NOT up.

Also since when is Okinawa the lead indicator for Tokyo’s future number. Another wrong statement there.

Based on the above, it’s no wonder your call for a lockdown is so ridiculous

Steven McCarthy, you’re completely misreading this article. Currently anyone looking to enter Japan, foreign or local, needs a negative PCR test result 72 hours before they board the flight. The borders are not as open as you think and nowhere near as open as precovid

I’m surprised no one has asked the Tourism minister whether the volume of tourists is meeting his expectations or not. Without further comment it’s difficult to know if they see this as a problem that needs fixing or just work-in-progress that takes time

Have we reached the point now where the majority of people are doing their best to live with Covid (judging by the amount of travelling during Obon), but the guidelines from the jgovt (based on old playbooks from previous variants) are no longer effective in curbing the current Covid wave.

Clearly the medical system that’s been assigned to handle Covid is under stress (bed occupancy), but not enough to prompt any immediate changes by the jgovt

It’s clear people weren’t cautious enough with their travelling during the obon holidays which is why Covid cases are on the rise again. Maybe this is proof that the majority of people are now living with Covid vs living in fear of it.

At the same time the Covid problem, in particular the strain on the medical system, hasn’t reached a level where the jgovt feels the need to act immediately. They’re also getting a lot of advice from medical expert panels but not acting on it. Too much procrastinating and too little leadership.