Commentary: Japan hasn’t declared a state of emergency over COVID-19. That’s bad news

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Amid growing calls for a Tokyo lockdown, Japanese leaders have ruled out that option and demurred from declaring a state of emergency. Such ...

The problem is the little consensus on the way forward.

Satoshi Kamayachi, an executive board member of the Japanese Medical Association who serves on a government expert panel on COVID-19, called on Abe to act decisively on Tuesday after citing that almost all members of his panel had agreed it was time to call for a state of emergency. Japanese authorities may have moved swiftly to address the press after last week’s sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 infections in Tokyo, but both have failed to give people sufficient assurance that the Japanese government is in full command and control of the situation.

Ms Koike’s request for people not to go to bars, nightclubs, karaoke studios, or live music studios has likewise depended on moral suasion and further ignores the potential impact on these businesses, when the government has not offered assistance or compensation. In all of PM Abe’s three press conferences on COVID-19, he falls back on the safety of a long, prepared speech displayed on prompters on his sides, which he reads from, only answering pre-submitted questions with ironed-out answers from a podium.This stands in stark contrast to leaders in other countries who take charge of the situation to speak directly to their people, using their own words to give clarity to the evolving situation, outline trade-offs, and answer tough questions on the spot.

 

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