Weekly Update: News on Japan & the Netherlands – Week 46, 2020

It was the first time that Hokkaido confirmed 200 new daily coronavirus cases on Monday, reaching that level for the first time since the outbreak of infections, local government officials said. With infections in Hokkaido exceeding more than 100 for the fourth straight day through Sunday, the latest figure bought the prefecture’s cumulative total to 4,198. Health experts said cold weather was likely responsible for the increase.

“We need to deal with the situation with maximum vigilance,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at an executive meeting of his Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo, after the number of new daily coronavirus cases in the country topped 1,000 on Thursday for the first time in more than two months and exceeded that level for three straight days through Saturday.

A government subcommittee made up of health experts presented a set of proposals calling on authorities to step up measures against clusters of infections and strengthen quarantine procedures. Shigeru Omi, head of the panel, warned that the rise in the number of infections “could drastically change” if the proposals, which also included increasing the amount of multilingual information for foreign communities, are not adequately put in place.

In response to the recent surge of infections in Hokkaido, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato hinted at the possibility of excluding the popular tourist destination from the central government’s domestic travel promotion campaign, depending on the outcome of the subcommittee’s discussions. The experts have said that the rising infections in Hokkaido and other northern areas could be the result of people spending time in poorly ventilated rooms as temperatures drop.

On Saturday, the Hokkaido government raised its own five-level pandemic alert one step to the third most severe, meaning stronger measures are needed to prevent the medical system from experiencing increasing and continuous strain. The prefectural government has called for nightlife establishments, such as hostess bars and host clubs, in the entertainment district of the capital Sapporo not to operate from 22:00 until 5:00, the following morning.

Under the measure introduced the same day that will remain in place through 27 November, restaurants are not asked to shorten their business hours but are requested to refrain from serving alcohol after 22:00.

It is understood that the Japanese government and ruling party officials are hoping the two countries can deepen their partnership to deal with global challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. Protectionism and other Trump administration policies led to disruption of global unity on occasions such as at Group of Seven meetings. But Biden appears willing to place a greater emphasis on international cooperation and alliances.

“I hereby declare in and outside of the country that prince Fumihito is now the crown prince,” said Naruhito, in his reddish brown robe and a headdress. Fumihito, in an orange robe and accompanied by his wife, Crown Princess Kiko, pledged in response: “I deeply acknowledge my responsibilities as crown prince and carry out my duties.”

The ritual was scaled down from the original 350 to about 50 attendants that included Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other top government officials, as well as prefectural representatives and select foreign dignitaries. In a separate, closed ceremony later Sunday, Fumihito inherited an imperial sword symbolizing his status as crown prince.

Sunday’s proclamation for the crown prince paves the way for the government to start discussing what to do with the dire shortage of heirs. Naruhito’s succession left only two younger men in line for the throne — Fumihito and his 14-year-old son, Hisahito. Naruhito’s 18-year-old daughter, Aiko, and the crown prince’s two daughters Mako and Kako are not in line because they are women.

Japan’s Imperial House Law, largely based on pre-war constitution, does not allow a female emperor and bars women when they marry commoners. The government in 2005 considered the possibility of female emperors, but the discussion halted as soon as Hisahito was born the following year. Surveys have shown that most Japanese support having female emperors, as Aiko has become increasingly popular.

Suga recently said his government will begin studying ways to secure a stable imperial succession after the crown prince’s proclamation. Official duties increased during the reign of hugely popular former emperor Akihito, who actively interacted with the public, including visiting disaster-hit areas to console residents.

Fumihito, one of the outspoken members of the imperial family, has expressed his views on how the family should adapt to modern times. He has said he believed royal duties can be shared equally regardless of gender, though he declined to comment on whether female emperors should be allowed. The imperial family currently has 13 women, including 6 who could marry and lose their royal status in coming years.

Watanabe Morinari, the President of the International Gymnastics Federation, referred to an appeal by Japanese Olympic gold medalist Uchimura Kohei asking people to look for ways to hold the Games, instead of giving them up due to the pandemic. Watanabe stressed that safety measures should be taken in such a way as to ease athletes’ worries about infection.

Tokyo Games’ delivery officer Nakamura Hidemasa said the recent event provided a good example of how to operate a competition in the pandemic.

The supplementary budget is also expected to provide funding to promote companies’ digitalization and investment in strengthening supply chains, improve the country’s disaster preparedness and increase financial support for couples undergoing fertility treatment.

The draft extra budget is likely to be submitted to next year’s ordinary Diet session convening in January, during which the initial budget for the next fiscal year from April will also be discussed. Part of the new measures in the stimulus package will be funded by the fiscal 2021 budget, according to the sources.

“Under the idea of a so-called 15-month budget, we’ll compile the third extra budget and the fiscal 2021 initial budget as a unified one,” Finance Minister Taro Aso told a press conference, but he refrained from referring to their scale.

For the current fiscal year, parliament has already enacted two supplementary budgets totaling about 57 trillion yen for anti-virus stimulus measures under the administration of Suga’s predecessor Shinzo Abe, with issuance of nearly 46 trillion yen of deficit-covering bonds. Among the past measures were 100,000 yen cash handouts to all 126 million residents in Japan.

The government set aside a total of 11.5 trillion yen in reserve funds under the two extra budgets to fight the coronavirus pandemic. About 7.3 trillion yen remains and the money is expected to be reoriented to the new supplementary budget, the sources said.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide responded that while vaccines prevent infection, it is difficult to avoid harmful side effects completely, however rare they may be. He said the government prioritizes safety and efficacy, and that it will use only vaccines that have been thoroughly screened and authorized based on treatment data and the latest scientific findings. The bill is expected to be passed during the current Diet session.

Rotterdam (344), Amsterdam (220), and The Hague (150) were the three cities with the most newly infected residents in Monday’s statistical update. Rotterdam improved by nearly a third compared to a week ago, with Amsterdam posting a 40% drop. In The Hague, the total fell by 46%. The seven day averages in the three cities were 457 in Rotterdam, 337 in Amsterdam, and 230 in The Hague.

At the same time, the total number of people hospitalized for the coronavirus disease rose on Monday for the first time in six days. The total stood at 2,317, meaning hospitals were treating 22 more patients compared to Sunday afternoon. Still, it was almost 9% lower than the Covid-19 hospital total a week ago.

The “very slight increase” was “nothing to worry about,” said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care providers network, during a press conference on Monday. “The decline was so fast that you can expect it to bounce.”

At the XL test lanes, in fact many test lanes in one location, more than a hundred thousand people can be tested for the corona virus every day. This doubles the current test capacity. Just as with a normal test street, anyone with complaints can go to an XL test street.

At the end of October, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health announced that there was talk about XL test streets around large cities, but the locations were not yet fixed. The ministry wants every Dutch person to be able to travel to a test location within 45 minutes.

During the first weeks, the test streets are manned by a thousand defense officers. For this, they will get a one-day training. After that, the work will be taken over by employees of the GGD or hired staff. However, the GGD remains responsible for who can be tested at which location and for the source and contact investigation after a positive result.

The pharmaceutical company hopes to publish the interim research results within two weeks. After that, the company wants to submit an application to the US drug authority FDA to market the vaccine. The European medicines agency EMA is about access to the European market.

Professor of Vaccinology at Utrecht University Cécile van Els, who is an immunologist at RIVM and also speaks on behalf of that institute, is delighted. “The vaccine has passed the first litmus test for efficacy.” To immediately add: “But the testing is not over yet, people are still being followed.

Anke Huckriede, professor of vaccinology at the University of Groningen finds some restraint in order. “In the short term, this vaccine appears to be able to protect, but in the end the point is that the vaccine offers protection for at least six months, if not longer. Whether that is the case with this vaccine, we still have to wait and see. The data look very promising. ”

The vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech gives the body instructions for the production of a protein that is characteristic of the coronavirus, against which an immune response is built up, explains Van Els. She also does not dare to say how long the defense works. “But usually you have at least a certain degree of immunity for a few years.” Whether the test subjects can no longer transmit the virus to others has not been tested. But without symptoms, such as coughing, the risk of infecting others is smaller, the professor emphasizes.

Both Van Els and Huckriede state that the claimed effectiveness of the vaccine, with a percentage of 90, is very high. With a flu vaccine, for example, 40 to 50% is involved, says Van Els. “That vaccine is often used for the elderly, which makes it more difficult to achieve a high percentage.”

Production of the vaccine has already started in anticipation of the definitive research results. Van Els: “The Netherlands is eyeing several vaccines, and Pfizer is one of them.”

Pfizer, she says, is already stocking up for when they get approval. “I think it is very optimistic for the end of this year, I would say at the end of the first quarter of next year, provided there are no setbacks.” Huckriede makes a similar estimate of when the vaccine will be available. She points out that the company can already produce 50 million doses for this year. Huckriede thinks the vaccine will hit the US market first, and the European market soon after. “I expect sometime in the spring, perhaps early spring, that the first people in the Netherlands will receive the vaccine.”

Last week, the Dutch Railways indicated that slightly fewer trains will be running in the coming period due to the corona crisis. Since this week, phases have been phased out to 90% of the normal timetable. Since the stricter corona measures, the rail carrier has far fewer passengers and therefore fewer trains are needed, according to the Dutch Railways.

Should the EU and UK negotiate a trade deal, the passages may no longer be necessary. The negotiations on this are in a final phase. There are some optimistic voices. Due to Brexit, the British are no longer bound by EU laws from 1 January 2021. In the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU retains control over trade with Northern Ireland, partly to prevent checks from being carried out at the border with EU Member State Ireland.