Japan fed up over latest extension of emergency
>>TOKYO: People in Japan yesterday expressed weariness about having to put up with an extension of the coronavirus state of emergency until the end of May in an effort to suppress a resurgence of infections ahead of this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
At Tokyo’s Haneda airport, few travellers were seen in the morning, following the government’s decision announced the previous day to extend the emergency covering Tokyo and the greater Osaka area. The emergency was initially slated to end Tuesday.
“There is no end in sight,” said Motohiro Nagata, 65, who was heading to Toyama Prefecture in central Japan, adding, “I can’t plan ahead as the government changes the period (of the emergency) and details of the anti-virus measures so often.”
A woman in her 50s who works at a coronavirus testing centre, said, “People are moving around so I don’t think the number of infections will decrease despite the extension of emergency.”
The government also decided on Friday to add Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures to the emergency, allowing local authorities to take tougher measures such as asking dining establishments to stop serving alcohol, effective from Wednesday.
In Fukuoka, few people were spotted on the street in the southwestern city’s downtown Tenjin district, a popular shopping area for tourists and locals.
“Everyone is wearing face masks and yet more contagious coronavirus variants are on the rise. The state of emergency cannot be helped,” said a 76-year-old man.
The man, who lives in the city, added, “It’s not right to hold the Olympics in this situation.”
At JR Nagoya Station in Aichi Prefecture, a 47-year-old man, who was heading to Osaka Prefecture for work, said people around him and he himself no longer feel the “sense of crisis” they used to when it comes to dealing with Covid-19. “I don’t have much hope that the (latest) emergency will be effective,” he said.