Japan
Trains packed with commuters as Japan fully ends emergency
Japan fully came out of a coronavirus state of emergency for the first time in more than six months as the country starts to gradually ease virus measures to help rejuvenate the pandemic-hit economy as the infections slowed.
At Tokyo’s busy Shinagawa train station, a sea of mask-wearing commuters rushed to their work despite an approaching typhoon, with some returning to their offices after months of remote work.
The emergency measures, in place for more than half of the country including Tokyo, ended Thursday following a steady fall in new caseloads over the past few weeks, helping to ease pressure on Japanese health care systems.
Read:Japan's next leader: Higher wages cure for pandemic doldrums
Outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga thanked the people for their patience and cooperation, and asked them to stick to their basic anti-virus measures.
“Once again, I seek your cooperation so that we can return to our daily lives feeling safe,” he said.
The lifting of the emergency marked a fresh start for some people.
Office worker Akifumi Sugihara, 46, said he is back to the train station for the first time in about a year. “I had been working from home for more than a year, and I came to the office in Tokyo as (the emergency) was lifted today,” he said. “It’s really been a while. I feel it’s a new start.”
Another office worker, Kaori Hayashi, 37, said it was an ordinary Friday. “In my mind nothing really has changed,” she said. “We still need to be careful. I will stay vigilant and carry on my life as usual.”
Japan is eager to expand social and economic activities while balancing the need to prevent another wave of infections as the weather turns cooler. Officials say the government still needs time to create more temporary COVID-19 treatment facilities and continue vaccinations to prepare for any future resurgence.
Read:Japan ex-diplomat Kishida wins party vote, to become new PM
The emergency measures have mainly involved requests for eateries to curb alcohol and hours. They can now serve alcohol and operate an hour longer but still have to close at 9 p.m.
Daily reported cases have fallen to below 1,600 as of Wednesday nationwide — less than one-tenth of the mid-August peak of around 25,000. Experts attributed the declining numbers to the progress of vaccinations and to people increased their social distancing efforts after being alarmed by the collapse of medical systems during the summer.
Nearly more than 59% of Japanese people have been fully vaccinated. Japan has had about 1.69 million cases and 17,641 deaths from COVID-19.
Japan's next leader: Higher wages cure for pandemic doldrums
Fumio Kishida, the man soon to become Japan’s prime minister, says he believes raising incomes is the only way to get the world’s third-largest economy growing again.
Nearly a decade after long-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to “make Japan great again,” Japan is in a holding pattern, stalled both by the pandemic and by chronic problems such as an aging and shrinking population, growing inequality and stagnant incomes.
Topping Kishida’s to-do list is another big dose of government spending to help Japan recover from the COVID-19 shock.
Kishida says he wants to promote a “new capitalism” that would be more equitable, with fairer distribution of national wealth — the only way to get frugal Japanese families to spend more.
Read: Japan ex-diplomat Kishida wins party vote, to become new PM
“Unless the fruits of growth are properly distributed, a ‘virtuous cycle of growth and distribution’ cannot be realized,” he told reporters after he overwhelmingly was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday. “I would like to take economic measures to raise the incomes of many of you.”
Despite his ambitious talk, Kishida is viewed as an establishment choice, not a reformer. He's a former banker and solid member of the political elite: his father and grandfather also were politicians.
Analysts say Kishida, who is all-but-certain to be elected prime minister by Parliament on Monday, is unlikely to stray far from Abe's playbook of heavy doses of stimulus. Neither did the current prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping aside after one year in office.
Kishida's top priority? “The economy," he told national broadcaster NHK.
He said he plans to propose a spending package worth several hundred billion dollars soon.
His support for housing and education subsidies should boost consumer spending, said Naoya Oshikubo, senior economist at SuMi TRUST. He expects a “tailwind for the stock market, as it will make clear that ex-Prime Minister Abe’s economic policies will continue."
Under Kishida, the Bank of Japan is likely to stick to its years-long efforts to spur growth by keeping interest rates near zero — making borrowing cheap — by pouring trillions of yen (hundreds of billions of dollars) into the economy through asset purchases.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% in morning trading Thursday after data showed factory output and retail sales weakened in August as the country buckled down to fight the pandemic.
Share prices are near their highest levels in three decades, but that wealth is not trickling down to average Japanese. Their incomes adjusted for inflation have been falling. Meanwhile, jobs are growing less secure as companies increasingly rely on part-time and contract workers to keep costs low — the average minimum wage in Japan is only 930 yen ($8.30), while the cost of living is higher than in many Western countries.
Read: Japan’s ex-top diplomat Kishida to become new PM
The number of families relying on Japan’s meager welfare benefits surged during the pandemic, and poverty has increased, especially in families headed by single mothers. What was labeled the “lost generation” during Japan’s long years of stagnation has become an “underclass” accounting for about four in 10 Japanese, says Waseda University professor Kenji Hashimoto.
He and other experts believe the post-World War II formula that made Japan an industrial powerhouse is outdated.
A soft-spoken pragmatist, Kishida has not spelled out in detail his vision for “new capitalism" and it's unclear if he has an overarching strategy for tackling the longer term problems that are constraining growth.
That means other party leaders, the central bank and the bureaucracy may have greater sway and could stymie big changes such as labor reforms that economists say are hindering improvements in productivity.
With nearly a third of the population already 65 or older, costs for health care and pensions are soaring, and ordinary families are footing a growing share of the bill. Kishida says the sales tax, now at 10%, should not be raised for about a decade to avoid snuffing out a revival in demand.
Corporations are holding a growing share of wealth, hoarding their earnings and paying lower taxes: As of June 30, 2020, retained corporate earnings in Japan totaled nearly 460 trillion yen (about $4.2 trillion)
Poverty is generally hidden away in affluent, orderly Japan, and homelessness is not as prevalent or visible as it is in the U.S. and some other countries. But living standards are falling and will keep declining unless the value of work per person rises as the population declines. Raising productivity also is key to raising wages economists say.
Despite the famous efficiency of manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corp., Japan ranks 21st among the 36 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Its per-hour productivity was under $50 in 2018, compared with nearly $75 per hour in the U.S. and about $102 in Ireland.
Read: Japan's PM Suga steps down
Kishida has said little about the productivity problem, though he is getting a head start on one area of reforms: what the Japanese call “digitization."
The slow and clumsy handling of pandemic relief payments and vaccinations drove home the urgency of modernizing Japan’s data sharing and public services. A new Digital Agency was launched on Sept. 1 to lead a shift away from reliance on fax machines, handwritten documents and ink stamps, helping streamline red tape.
Such changes are necessary but won't fix the economy, Richard Katz, editor-in-chief of The Oriental Economist, said in a recent online briefing.
“There are a whole bunch of challenges," he said. “They're solvable but that needs a prime minister with a will to act, who has a strategy."
Japan ex-diplomat Kishida wins party vote, to become new PM
Japan’s former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida won the governing party leadership election on Wednesday and is set to become the next prime minister, facing the imminent task of addressing a pandemic-hit economy and ensuring a strong alliance with Washington to counter growing regional security risks.
Kishida replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after serving only one year since taking office last September.
Read:Japan’s ex-top diplomat Kishida to become new PM
As new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida is certain to be elected the next prime minister on Monday in parliament, where his party and coalition partner control the house.
Kishida beat popular vaccinations minister Taro Kono in a runoff after finishing only one vote ahead of him in the first round where none of the four candidates, including two women, was able to win a majority.
Results showed Kishida had more support from party heavyweights who apparently chose stability over change advocated by Kono, who is known as something of a maverick.
The new leader is under pressure to change the party's high-handed reputation worsened by Suga, who angered the public over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and insistence on holding the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Read: Japan's PM Suga steps down
The long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party desperately needs to quickly turn around plunging public support ahead of lower house elections coming within two months.
Kishida called for growth and distribution under his “new capitalism,” saying that the economy under Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had only benefited big companies.
Overall, little change is expected in key diplomatic and security policies under the new leader, said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.
All of the candidates support close Japan-U.S. security ties and partnerships with other like-minded democracies in Asia and Europe, in part to counter China’s growing influence and a threat from nuclear-armed North Korea.
Wednesday’s vote was seen as a test of whether the party can move out of Abe’s shadow. His influence in government and party affairs has largely muzzled diverse views and shifted the party to the right.
Read: Japan suspends 1.63M doses of Moderna over contamination
Kishida is also seen as a choice who could prolong an era of unusual political stability amid fears that Japan could return to “revolving door” leadership.
“Concern is not about individuals but stability of Japanese politics," Michael Green, senior vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told a telephone briefing ahead of the vote. “It's about whether or not we are entering a period in Japanese politics of instability and short-term prime ministership,” he said. “It makes it very hard to move forward on agenda."
Suga is leaving only a year after taking office as a pinch hitter for Abe, who suddenly resigned over health problems, ending his nearly eight-year leadership, the longest in Japan’s constitutional history.
Japan’s ex-top diplomat Kishida to become new PM
Japan’s former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has won the governing party leadership election and is set to become the next prime minister.
Kishida replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after serving only one year since taking office last September.
As new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida is certain to be elected the next prime minister on Monday in parliament, where his party and coalition partner control the house.
Read:Japan passes 50% vaccination rate, may ease limits in Nov.
Kishida beat Taro Kono, the vaccinations minister, in a runoff after moving ahead of two female candidates Sanae Takaichi and Seiko Noda in the first round.
Japan's governing party vote to pick a new leader entered a second round Wednesday, with the presumed next prime minister facing imminent, crucial tasks such as addressing a pandemic-hit economy and ensuring a strong alliance with Washington amid growing regional security risks.
In the first round, former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida came in first with 256, only one vote ahead of Taro Kono, the vaccinations minister, but failed to win a majority and moved to a runoff between the two.
Among the two female candidates, unusual for male-dominated Japanese politics, ultra-conservative Sanae Takaichi and liberal-leaning Seiko Noda won 188 votes and 63 votes respectively, dropping out of the race.
Kishida, who has more support from party heavyweights’ support, is believed to be in a better position than Kono in a runoff, which largely reflects a party power struggle.
Read: Japan's PM Suga steps down
The new leader also needs to change the party's high-handed reputation, worsened by the outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who angered the public over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and insistence on holding the Olympics in Tokyo this past summer.
The long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party desperately needs to quickly turn around plunging public support ahead of lower house elections coming within two months, observers say.
Wednesday afternoon’s vote includes only LDP parliamentarians and grassroots members, and results will be known within hours. Whoever wins the LDP election will become prime minister because the party has control of parliament. The vote there is expected next Monday and the new prime minister would form a new Cabinet later that day.
At a Tokyo hotel, lawmakers cast their votes one by one in a ballot box on stage when their names were called.
Kono, known as something of a maverick and a reformist, supports eventually phasing out nuclear energy, while Kishida calls for growth and distribution under his “new capitalism,” saying Abe’s economic policy only benefited big companies. Takaichi, by far the most hawkish who wants greater military capability and spending, promised to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Noda pushed for women's rights and diversity.
Read: Japan suspends 1.63M doses of Moderna over contamination
Overall, little change is expected in key diplomatic and security policies under the new leader, said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.
All of the candidates support close Japan-U.S. security ties and partnerships with other like-minded democracies in Asia and Europe, in part to counter China’s growing influence.
Analysts think Suga lost support because of party complacency and an increasingly high-handed approach forged during Abe’s long leadership.
Wednesday’s vote is seen as a test of whether the party can move out of Abe’s shadow. His influence in government and party affairs has largely muzzled diverse views and shifted the party to the right, experts say.
North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile into sea
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea early Tuesday, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, in the latest in a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang that raised questions about the sincerity of its recent offer for talks with South Korea.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said “an unidentified projectile” fired from an inland location flew toward North Korea’s eastern sea Tuesday morning. It said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launch.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said North Korea fired “what could be a ballistic missile” and his government stepped up vigilance and surveillance as it analyzed details of the launch.
Read:Seoul: North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles off east coast
Tests of ballistic and cruise missiles earlier this month were North Korea’s first such launches in six months and displayed its ability to attack targets in South Korea and Japan, both key U.S. allies where a total of 80,000 American troops are stationed.
But last Friday and Saturday, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, reached out to Seoul, saying her country was open to resuming talks and reconciliatory steps if conditions are met. Some experts said North Korea wants South Korea to work to win it relief from U.S.-led sanctions.
South Korea has called her statement “meaningful” but urged North Korea to restore communication channels before any talks between the rivals can be arranged.
The communication lines have remained largely dormant for about 15 months, so restoring them and accepting Seoul’s calls on them could be a yardstick to asses how serious the North is about its offer for conditional talks.
Read: North Korea says it tested new long-range cruise missiles
As the North conducted its third round of weapons launches on Tuesday, North Korean Ambassador Kim Song used his speech on the last day of the U.N. General Assembly to justify his country’s development of a “war deterrent” to defend against U.S. threats.
“The possible outbreak of a new war on the Korean Peninsula is contained not because of the U.S.’s mercy on the DPRK, it is because our state is growing a reliable deterrent that can control the hostile forces in an attempted military invasion,” Kim said.
The North’s latest outreach came as a response to South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s renewed calls for a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War in a bid to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul officials describe such a declaration as a “political” and “symbolic” step because a peace treaty is needed to be signed to formally end the Korean War, which ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war.
Read: In Seoul center, N Korean defectors find solace with locals
The three-year conflict pitted South Korea and U.S.-led U.N. forces against North Korea and China, killed 1 million to 2 million people. In his speech at the U.N. last week, Moon proposed the end-of-the-war declaration be signed among the two Koreas, the U.S. and China.
A U.S.-led diplomatic effort aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons in return for economic and political benefits has been stalled 2½ years. U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed hopes for further talks but have also made it clear the long-term sanctions imposed on North Korea will stay in place until the North takes concrete steps toward denuclearization.
While North Korea has tested short-range weapons and vowed to continue building its nuclear arsenal, Kim Jong Un has maintained a moratorium on testing longer-range weapons capable of reaching the American homeland, an indication he wants to keep the chances for future diplomacy with the U.S. alive.
Seoul: North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles off east coast
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, two days after the North claimed to have tested a new missile in its first weapons test in six months.
The two ballistic missiles launched from a site in central North Korea flew toward the waters of the Korean Peninsula’s east coast on Wednesday afternoon, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The statement said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing more details about the North Korean launches. It said South Korea has boosted its anti-North Korea surveillance posture.
Read:North Korea says it tested new long-range cruise missiles
Japan’s coast guard confirmed the missiles both landed outside Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. No ships or aircraft reported damage, the Coast Guard said.
North Korea said Monday it tested a newly developed cruise missile twice over the weekend. North Korea’s state media described the missile as a “strategic weapon of great significance,” implying they were developed with the intent to arm them with nuclear warheads. According to North Korean accounts, the missile flew about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles), a distance that is capable of reaching all of Japan and U.S. military installations there.
Many experts say the North Korean test suggested North Korea is pushing to bolster its weapons arsenal amid a deadlock in nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington.
The latest launch came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Seoul for meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and other senior officials to discuss the stalled nuclear diplomacy with the North.
Talks between the United States and North Korea have stalled since 2019, when the Americans rejected the North’s demand for major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility. Kim’s government has so far threatened to build high-tech weapons targeting the United States and rejected the Biden administration’s overtures for dialogue, demanding that Washington abandon its “hostile” policies first.
Read: Leaders of North Korea, China vow to strengthen ties
The North’s resumption of testing activity is likely an attempt at pressuring the Biden administration over the diplomatic freeze after Kim failed to leverage his arsenal for economic benefits during the presidency of Donald Trump.
North Korea ended a yearlong pause in ballistic tests in March by firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, continuing a tradition of testing new U.S. administrations with weapons demonstrations aimed at measuring Washington’s response and wresting concessions.
North Korea still maintains a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, a sign that it may not want to completely scuttle the nuclear negotiations with the United States.
Japan passes 50% vaccination rate, may ease limits in Nov.
Japan’s government says more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Japan’s vaccine rollouts began in mid-February, months behind many wealthy countries due to its lengthy clinical testing requirement and approval process. Inoculations for elderly patients, which started in April, were also slowed by supply shortages of imported vaccines, but the pace picked up in late May and has since achieved 1 million doses per day.
Read: Japan suspends 1.63M doses of Moderna over contamination
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of COVID-19 measures, told NHK public television’s weekly talk show Sunday that about 60% of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated by the end of September, on par with current levels in Europe.
The government is studying a roadmap for easing restrictions around November when a large majority of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated. That would allow fully vaccinated people and those who test negative to travel, gather for parties or attend mass events.
The progress of vaccinations has helped reduce serious cases and deaths among older people, but infections from virus variants spread explosively in August among younger generations still largely unvaccinated, severely straining health care systems.
Read: Japan to further expand virus emergency areas as cases surge
Japan last Friday extended the ongoing state of emergency in Tokyo and 18 other areas until Sept. 30. It had been scheduled to end Sunday. The measures focus on requests for eateries to close early and not serve alcohol.
Japan has done much better than other developed countries in curbing illnesses and deaths without a lockdown. It has counted more than 1.65 million cases and 16,700 deaths.
Japan's PM Suga steps down
Amid growing criticism of his handling of the pandemic, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he won’t run for the leadership of the governing party later this month, paving the way for a new Japanese leader after just a year in office.
Suga told reporters that heading Japan’s pandemic response and campaigning to lead his governing Liberal Democratic Party at the same time divided his energies. “I have decided not to run for the party leadership elections, as I would like to focus on coronavirus measures,” Suga told reporters who rushed to his office after the news broke.
Suga has faced criticism and nosediving public support over a coronavirus response seen as too slow and limited and for holding the Olympics despite the public’s health concerns. His hope of having the Olympic festivities help turn around his plunging popularity was also dashed.
He said he had put all his energy into important issues including the virus response since he took office.
“But doing both takes enormous energy and I have decided that I should just choose one or the other,” he said. “As I have repeatedly said, protecting people’s lives and health is my responsibility as prime minister, and that’s what I will dedicate myself to.”
The Liberal Democrats and their coalition partner have a majority in parliament, meaning whoever wins the Sept. 29 party vote is virtually guaranteed to become the new prime minister.
The official start of the party campaign is Sept. 17. Candidacy requires factional support largely controlled by party heavyweights, and their choices may not match those favored in public opinion surveys.
Read: Yoshihide Suga named Japan's prime minister
Two Cabinet ministers in former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government have come out as potential candidates: dovish former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, currently seen as a top contender, and former Interior Minister Sanae Takaichi, who shares Abe’s rightwing ideology.
Current Vaccinations Minister Taro Kono also expressed interest on Friday, saying he will make a final decision after consulting fellow lawmakers. Former Defense Miniter Shigeru Ishiba, a favorite in media surveys, and Seiko Noda, former gender equality minister, also reportedly have expressed intentions to run.
Kishida has criticized Suga’s handling of the pandemic and recently proposed a series of virus measures, including more funding, a pledge to secure more hospital beds and creation of a health crisis management agency to centralize pandemic measures.
Kono, the son of the longest-serving lower house speaker and grandson of a former deputy prime minister, is a political blue blood and has served as foreign and defense ministers. He regularly communicates on social media and is popular among younger voters.
Suga’s decision is largely seen as a political move so the party can have a fresh leader before national elections later this year. The lower house term ends in late October and elections must be held by late November.
Suga took office last September after Abe resigned due to health problems, to fill in the remainder of Abe’s term.
The son of a strawberry farmer from Japan’s northern prefecture of Akita, Suga enjoyed support ratings as high as 70% early in his tenure because he was seen as a leader from the common people rather than blue-blood political families like Abe.
Suga introduced a series of pragmatic measures, including digital transformation of the economy, administrative reforms and a pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but his support ratings slid quickly over his coronavirus measures as Japan’s outbreak grew.
Read: Yoshihide Suga wins party vote for Japan prime minister
His downfall started late last year when he bumbled a travel promotion campaign as the pandemic was worsening. He was forced into declaring a state of emergency in January and has since repeatedly expanded and extended the emergency measures, most recently until Sept. 12. In the latest media surveys, his support ratings have declined to around 26%.
“Being forced to live under restrictions, people have become increasingly frustrated and their dissatisfaction is nearing its peak, and that’s the biggest reason causing Suga’s administration to end,” the Mainichi newspaper commented.
The emergency has largely focused on requests for eateries to close early and not serve alcohol, while requests for people to stay home and social distance have largely been ignored.
Suga has been criticized for presenting an overly optimistic outlook on the pandemic and for not sending convincing messages to the people to instill a sense of crisis. His vaccine-dependent policies also exposed people to risk while the vaccination campaign faced delays.
Although the pace of new cases in Tokyo has somewhat slowed, experts say a resurgence can occur any time and the health care system is under severe pressure with hospitals filled with serious cases and tens of thousands of sick people recovering at home.
“I hope this won’t create a vacuum, as it’s a crucial time” for the virus situation, said Dr. Shigeru Omi, the government’s top medical adviser. He urged officials to strengthen the country’s medical system and accelerate tests and the vaccine rollout.
“Problems are mounting,” said Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, a powerful business lobby. “Delays in the coronavirus measures are unacceptable.”
Japan suspends 1.63M doses of Moderna over contamination
Japan suspended use of about 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine Thursday after contamination was found in unused vials, raising concern of a supply shortage as the country tries to accelerate vaccinations amid a COVID-19 surge.
The health ministry said contamination was reported from multiple vaccination sites. Some doses might have been administered, but no adverse health effects have been reported so far, officials said.
Read: Japan to further expand virus emergency areas as cases surge
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., a Japanese drugmaker in charge of sales and distribution of the vaccine in Japan, said it decided to suspend use of doses manufactured in the same production line as a safety precaution.
It asked Moderna to conduct an emergency investigation and told medical institutions and organizers to stop using the vaccine produced in Spain and shared the production numbers that may be affected.
The health ministry and Takeda did not give details on the type of contamination or if the doses in question may have been distributed outside Japan.
Read:Japan to widen virus emergency after record spike amid Games
The Moderna vaccine problem came just as Japan struggles with surging infections, with daily new cases hitting new highs in many parts of the country and severely straining the health care system.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters the government and Takeda are discussing ways to minimize the impact on Japan’s vaccination progress.
“We will do utmost in order to avoid any impact on vaccination progress, especially at worksites and large-scale centers,” Kato said.
Read:Tropical storm to bring rain, wind, waves to northeast Japan
Japan relies entirely on foreign-developed vaccines by Moderna, as well as Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca. Moderna has been since mid-June at large-scale centers and workplace inoculations and has helped speed up Japan’s rollout.
About 43% of the Japanese population have been fully vaccinated, with daily doses of about 1 million.
Japan to further expand virus emergency areas as cases surge
Japan was set to expand its coronavirus state of emergency for a second week in a row Wednesday, adding several more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the delta variant strains the country’s health care system.
The government last week extended the state of emergency until Sept. 12 and expanded the areas covered to 13 prefectures from six including Tokyo. Sixteen other prefectures are currently under quasi-emergency status.
Read:Japan to widen virus emergency after record spike amid Games
The government at a meeting of experts Wednesday proposed upgrading eight prefectures from quasi-emergency status to a full state of emergency. Those prefectures include Hokkaido and Miyagi in the north, Aichi and Gifu in central Japan, and Hiroshima and Okayama in the west.
The proposal was expected to be approved and formally announced later Wednesday.
Japan’s state of emergency relies on requirements for eateries to close at 8 p.m. and not serve alcohol, but the measures are increasingly defied. Unenforceable social distancing and tele-working requests for the public and their employers are also largely ignored due to growing complacency.
The Japanese capital has been under the emergency since July 12, but new daily cases have increased more than tenfold since then to about 5,000 in Tokyo and 25,000 nationwide. Hospital beds are quickly filling and many people must now recover at home, including some who require supplemental oxygen.
Read: Tropical storm to bring rain, wind, waves to northeast Japan
More than 35,000 patients in Tokyo are recovering at home, about one-third of them unable to find a hospital or hotel vacancies immediately. Only a small percentage of hospitals are taking virus patients, either for financial reasons or because they lack the capability to treat the infections, experts say.
Japan has weathered the pandemic better than many other countries, with around 15,600 deaths nationwide since the start, but its vaccination efforts lag behind other wealthy nations. About 40% of the population has been fully vaccinated, mainly elderly people.
Economy and Fiscal Policy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, also in charge of the COVID-19 measures, said Wednesday that infections are spreading among those in their 20s to 50s who are largely unvaccinated. He urged them to take extra caution.
“Just imagine you may be the one getting infected tomorrow,” he said.
Rising infections among schoolchildren and teenagers could accelerate the surge as they begin returning to school after the summer vacation, said Dr. Shigeru Omi, top government medical advisor. He proposed schools curtail activity and urged high schools and colleges to return to online classes.
“Infections in Tokyo are showing no signs of slowing, and the severely tight medical systems will continue for a while,” he told a parliamentary session Wednesday.
The government has faced criticism for holding this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics despite strong opposition from the public. Officials deny any direct link between the games and the spike in infections.