Weekly Update: News on Japan & the Netherlands – Week 16, 2020

The government has already decided to give 300,000 yen to households suffering from income drops due to the spread of the coronavirus as part of the country’s largest-ever 108 trillion yen economic stimulus package. But critics say the scheme is not clear-cut in terms of which households are eligible.

To strengthen support for struggling households and businesses, the government plans to submit a supplementary budget for fiscal 2020 to the Diet next week and have it approved on 22 April. Another extra budget would have to be compiled if Abe decides to launch the proposed 100,000 yen cash handout program.

“We wanted to do something with the technology we have in a situation where many people are in trouble, unable to find masks,” a Mitsufuji spokesperson said about the product, which is made at its plant in Kawamata in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima. Having sold out once in mid-March after putting the product on sale, the company has ramped up production and orders can again be made at its website. Delivery is expected to take several weeks.

On 1 April, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to deliver two cloth masks per family, although several citizens mocked the plan, calling it “Abenomask” (Abe’s mask) in a pun on his signature economic policy called Abenomics. Others have called it “a waste of taxpayer money.”

While wearing cloth masks is believed to have only limited effect in preventing infection with the virus, it is thought to be effective in not spreading it through airborne droplets when one coughs or sneezes.

A growing number of companies are switching to teleworking amid the spread of the virus, though Japan Inc. has been slow to adopt the practice. In Tokyo’s Marunouchi business and commercial district, many shops were closed with few people seen walking the streets.

“I’ve shifted to teleworking, but I need to go to the office once a week, which is today,” said a 57-year-old public servant whose work involves disaster relief.

“We cannot reduce the number of people who will be put in charge of support (if a natural disaster occurs),” he said.

Abe has stressed the need to avoid going out and urged businesses to allow telework, aiming at the earlier mentioned 80% reduction in person-to-person contact.

But his government has been reluctant to push for broad business closures for fear of further damage to an economy that was already on the verge of recession before the outbreak. Many businesses have called for direct compensation for lost revenue if they close, a cost that the government is wary of shouldering.

Words like “subsidies” and “consulting for (government) help” were also used in tandem with the term “jobs” as frequently as when the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis, the institute said.

The economy-watchers survey, released last week, showed service sector sentiment hit a record low in March, as the coronavirus crisis prompted travel bans and hurt consumption in a major shock to the economy. Japan’s jobs data for March will be released on 28 April.

In the afternoon there will be an ‘internet market’ for clothes – although few details have yet been published of how this will work. In addition, children are being urged to write a digital letter to the king, wishing him a happy birthday and telling him about what the coronavirus crisis means to them.

An important question is how profitable it can be to run a café or restaurant at all if the number of customers remains very limited by the 1.5 meter measure. “Public health is what matters most, so one must always be responsible,” emphasized Van der Wielen.Meanwhile cinemas and theaters seem to run into the same problem. In principle, this group has previously been told by the government that large events and meetings with many people are not allowed until 1 June. In his  speech of 7 April, Prime Minister Rutte specifically mentioned the cinemas as a sector severely affected by the coronavirus.

“It is not yet known when the cinemas may open again, but it is clear that in the first period from the opening the cinemas will have to deal with certain restrictions,” reports the Dutch Association of Cinemas & Filmtheaters (NVBF). “The safety of visitors and employees is most important.”