Ruri Kasahara
As the virus continues to spread across this country, it is essential to be updated with information about the Japanese government’s response to COVID-19. There have been many opinions raised on how the Japanese government has responded to this situation through the past few months, and there have been more quarrels rising these past few days.
Firstly, there is the debate on whether the Japanese government has been taking actions too slowly. According to the Japan Times, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Edano, expressed strong feelings of annoyance towards the prime minister for not being able to terminate the Go To programs and issue a state of emergency declaration earlier, despite being advised by public health experts and suggestions from opposition lawmakers. Edano comments, “The Go To programs on which the prime minister is fixated recommend people travel and dine out using taxpayers’ money. There has been concern from the beginning that they would worsen the infection situation if they were forced to continue … why have you fallen this far behind?”. However, Suga defended their actions by stating that he had made these decisions after consulting with experts. Another aspect of concern for Edano was the government’s proposal to introduce a law where COVID-19 patients who refused to be hospitalized will receive a prison term. Although Suga responded that the government would be mindful of human rights, he did not take back the idea of introducing this law.
Considering the COVID-19 vaccines, the prime minister announced repeatedly that the government was planning to roll out the first vaccine by late February with domestic approval. These vaccines would be prioritized to members in the health care, the elderly, and the patients with pre-existing conditions. In addition, on Wednesday night, the health ministry announced that the government had signed a deal with Pfizer Inc. to acquire vaccines for at least 72 million people within this year.
The major topic that could raise positive or negative opinions from the citizens is the government’s announcement to host the Tokyo Olympics without the prerequisite for vaccines while still ensuring that it will be “safe and secure”. This gives room to a slight contradiction since some audiences may not incorporate a safe environment of a sports event consisting of possibly unvaccinated people. However, Toshihiro Nakai, the secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democractic Party states that their success to host the Olympics “will lead to supporting athletes and inspiring children worldwide”. In response to the government’s announcement, the Japanese Community Party leader, Kazuo Shii, expressed that the event should be discarded altogether and that resources should be redirected and prioritized to COVID-19 relief. In addition to this, around 80% of Kyodo News survey responded that the event should be rescheduled again or canceled. As it can be seen, there are many opinions “for” and “against” the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics, however possibly the primary focus is whether the government will be able to lift this state of energy before the torch relay on March 25th in Fukushima Prefecture, as they had to postpone the games right before the torch relay last year. As the number of days only get closer and closer to the event, it can be seen that there will be more debate and discussion on whether to prioritize this historical event or the health of Japan.
Works Cited
Jiji, Kyodo. “Japan Says COVID-19 Vaccines Not a Prerequisite for Tokyo Olympics.” The Japan Times, 19 Jan. 2021,
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/19/national/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus-vaccine/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.
Sugiyama, Satoshi. “Diet in Review: Suga Defensive on Virus Response but Insistent on Olympics.” The Japan Times, 22 Jan. 2021,
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/22/national/politics-diplomacy/suga-diet-qa/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2021.