- On Tuesday 2 February, Prime Minister Suga made the announcement that Japan will extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions for another month until 7 March, seeking to keep the upper hand over a COVID-19 outbreak even as daily case numbers begin to edge down. The current state of emergency was originally scheduled to end on 7 February. The announcement was made after a meeting of an expert coronavirus response panel Tuesday, and was clarified later in a live press conference on Tuesday evening.”We’ll respond with a sense of urgency based on the medical situation and virus spread,” Kato Katsunobu, chief cabinet secretary, told reporters. “The number of new coronavirus cases is falling, but caution is still needed,” Kato said, adding that hospitals remained full and the death rate had not fallen.Japan has reported a total of 391,618 COVID-19 cases, including 5,832 deaths. Suga and his government remain determined to host the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, currently scheduled for July-August, despite the resurgence of the virus in Japan.Under the current state of emergency, restaurants and bars are requested to trade for shorter hours and people encouraged to stay home as much as possible. The Nikkei daily newspaper reported that gyms, cinemas and karaoke establishments could be added if new daily infections in Tokyo rise above 1,000 for several consecutive days. Broadcaster NHK said one prefecture, Tochigi, will be omitted from the extension, which could be lifted earlier if the situation improves.With Japan behind other nations rolling out vaccination programs, the government has pledged to start inoculating medical workers at the end of February. NHK reported on Tuesday that approval for the Pfizer vaccine could come as early as 12 February.
Support for Suga’s government has been battered by disapproval of his handling of the pandemic, a situation not helped when several ruling coalition lawmakers admitted to flouting rules by visiting hostess clubs and bars late at night. One resigned his seat on Monday and three others left Suga’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
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- Japan has no plans to repatriate its nationals from Myanmar, a foreign ministry official said on Monday, after Myanmar’s military seized power from a democratically elected civilian government and arrested its leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Myanmar’s army declared a state of emergency on Monday and said it had detained senior government leaders, accusing Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) of winning a landslide victory in the 8 November vote through “election fraud”.There are an estimated 3,500 Japanese in Myanmar, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, Tokyo had been advising citizens to put off travel there, said the Foreign Ministry official, who asked to remain unidentified, adding there are no current plans to change that advisory.Chief cabinet secretary Kato Katsunobu said the government was closely watching the situation and would do everything possible to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens. “At this point there are no reports of any clashes, but we’ll update information and take measures as needed,” he told a news conference. “Japan believes it is important for the parties to solve problems peacefully through dialogue in accordance with the democratic process,” he added.Japan and Myanmar have long had close ties, with Tokyo a major aid donor over the years and scores of firms engaged in business activities there. The Japanese embassy in Myanmar posted a message on the Foreign Ministry’s website, saying that while the situation in the country at this point did not appear to be one that would involve ordinary people, people should exercise caution. “We encourage people to stay inside and refrain from going out unless absolutely essential,” it added.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Burmese protesters holding portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi gathered in Tokyo on Monday to protest against the detention of the country’s leaders. The demonstrators, wearing face masks and carrying flags, stood outside the United Nations University in downtown Tokyo and called on the international body to further condemn the Myanmar military’s actions. One of the protest organizers said nearly 800 people attended the demonstration on Monday.
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- Japan has asked the European Union for cooperation in its efforts to secure a stable supply of coronavirus vaccines from the bloc. Ministers from Japan and the EU held a video conference on Monday. The meeting is held regularly to discuss trade issues, based on the Economic Partnership Agreement which came into effect in 2019.Last month, the EU announced export controls on COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in the bloc. Manufacturers shipping to non-EU markets now have to declare where vaccines will be exported and obtain authorization in advance.During the meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said that he does not want the measure to impact planned vaccine supplies from EU countries to Japan. European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, expressed his understanding of Japan’s concern. He said that due to their friendly ties, the EU will do all it can to ensure vaccines will be delivered to Japan smoothly, as promised under contract with manufacturers.
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- Japan’s lower house on Monday passed bills to introduce fines for people and businesses failing to comply with the country’s measures for preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.The Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide backed down on a controversial proposal to imprison COVID-19 patients who refuse to be hospitalized after facing criticism from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party that such a step would be excessive. The legislation also allows designation of a precursor situation to a state of emergency in which special measures to combat the spread of the virus can be taken.Nishimura Yasutoshi, minister in charge of the country’s coronavirus response, told a lower house panel that the government is considering applying the special measures in a Stage 3 situation in its four-point scale, in which infection cases surge, but may consider doing so even in Stage 2 if a rapid spread is feared.Parliament began deliberations on the necessary revisions to the infectious diseases law and the coronavirus special measures law Friday and is set to enact the legislation Wednesday along with the resolution.The bill on the infectious disease law calls for introducing fines of up to 500,000 yen for COVID-19 patients resisting hospitalization and 300,000 yen for those who fail to participate in epidemiological surveys by health authorities.
The government had originally sought to introduce a prison sentence of up to one year or a maximum fine of 1 million yen for people who refuse to be hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus, and a fine of up to 500,000 yen for those who do not cooperate with epidemiological surveys.
However last week, Japan’s ruling party agreed to scrap the plan to make it a criminal offense, ceding to opposition criticism that the punishment was too harsh. The introduction of a prison sentence of up to one year had been part of Prime Minister Suga’s efforts to bolster the government’s ability to fight a recent surge in infections.
The other bill on the coronavirus special measures law also calls for fines of up to 300,000 yen for restaurants and bars that do not cooperate with orders to shorten their operating hours under a state of emergency and up to 200,000 yen for those not cooperating in a precursor situation categorized as just below a state of emergency.
The government had been planning to impose fines of up to 500,000 yen in the former scenario and 300,000 yen in the latter. The additional resolution also calls for only requesting businesses to cut operating hours and not to request closures or people to refrain from going outside altogether.
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- Japan Airlines said Monday it forecasts a larger-than-expected annual net loss of 300 billion yen, as the aviation industry continues to struggle from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Japan’s second-largest carrier said it projected the net loss for the year ending March 2021, up from its previous forecast of 240-270 billion yen.”Severe worldwide restrictions on international travel have caused international passenger demand to virtually disappear,” it said in a statement. “Many countries and areas are suffering again from the rebound of the (virus’s) spread, which makes the recovery of international passenger demand hard to foresee.”JAL suffered a net loss of 212.7 billion yen in the April-December period, plunging from a 74.8 billion yen profit for the same period a year before. It posted sales of 356.5 billion yen for the same period, a drop of a third from sales figures of 1.1 trillion yen the previous year.Last week, its rival ANA Holdings maintained its forecast for a record $4.9 billion net loss this financial year. ANA, Japan’s biggest airline, announced nine-month net losses of 309.6 billion yen — a record, and a sharp drop from the 86.4 billion yen in profit it logged in the same period the previous year. But ANA’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer said their “recovery is underway.”In October, ANA announced a major restructuring plan, having already announced it would halt recruitment for 2021/22, and not replace the approximately 3,000 workers who retire every year. The Nikkei Business Daily said on Monday that about 1,000 Japan Airlines staff are being transferred to companies outside the JAL group as it weathers the effects of the pandemic.
Japan’s airlines had expected a bumper year in 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics were due to be held and tourist numbers were expected to break records. The Games are now scheduled to open in July, but with rising new infections there are doubts about whether that will be feasible and if foreign spectators will be allowed.
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- The operator of clothing chain Uniqlo says it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its factory and other activities to virtually zero by 2050. Fast Retailing announced the carbon neutrality goal and measures to achieve it at an online news conference on Tuesday.He plans to install solar panels on stores to increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce electricity consumption at factories where production is outsourced. The firm also plans to accelerate efforts to improve the efficiency of logistics such as clothing delivery.This is the first time Fast Retailing has announced a numerical target for carbon dioxide emissions. The firm plans to formulate specific plans and announce them this year.Yanai Tadashi, chairman and president of Fast Retailing, said he has a sense of crisis that the Earth will end this generation if environmental destruction continues. He said his firm will act in earnest to become a company that helps improve society.On Tuesday, a panel from Japan’s Environment Ministry also resumed talks on carbon pricing, which was the first time the experts have discussed the matter in about 18 months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Carbon pricing is a system under which companies and households would bear the costs based on their carbon emissions.
Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro said for Japan to realize a carbon-neutral society by 2050, he thinks carbon pricing that can lead to economic growth is essential. Koizumi added that in-depth discussions are needed to hear views both for and against.
The panel discussed the characteristics and problems of the emissions trading system including a carbon tax. They said if new subsidies funded by the carbon tax are introduced, it would promote corporate technological innovations and lead to growth.
There also said that discussions are needed on the impact the system could have on people’s lives and corporate global competitiveness as economic activities remain slow amid the pandemic. The panel hopes to compile its views on carbon pricing by the end of the year.
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