Weekly Update: News on Japan & the Netherlands – Week 8, 2021

Kyoto Gov Nishiwaki Takatoshi has said that even if the state of emergency is lifted, the prefecture would continue to ask restaurants and bars to shorten business hours to prevent a resurgence of infections. The governor of another prefecture, Aichi in central Japan, said he has already made a similar request with the central government.

Tokyo Gov Koike Yuriko is cautious about lifting the emergency declaration in the capital, which is still seeing a “severe” infection situation. Koike also said she is planning to hold an online meeting with the governors of the three nearby prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.

Kono Taro, the minister overseeing the program, said on television Sunday that vaccinations for older people would be be delayed because Pfizer could not increase its production capacity at least until May, and the government has found that an additional 1 million medical workers need to be vaccinated.

Currently, the government officially expects to start vaccinating those age 65 or above in April and finish the inoculations for the age group in roughly two months and three weeks. But the rollout will be delayed by about two weeks as ramping up inoculations is unlikely to be possible before May at the earliest, according to a government source.

Regarding people with underlying conditions, who are next in line after those age 65 or above, health minister Tamura Norihisa told the Budget Committee meeting that doctors would confirm whether they have such conditions based on self-certification using prevaccination forms.

“I don’t think the international community will introduce a system preventing people from doing something unless they get shots,” the former foreign minister said.

“I hope to promote activities that prevent loneliness and social isolation and protect the ties between people,” Sakamoto told reporters following their meeting. His other cabinet responsibilities include regional revitalization, as well as addressing Japan’s falling birthrate.

Sakamoto said he could coordinate with the health ministry on suicide prevention and with the agricultural ministry on food banks, for example. “We will work on a comprehensive approach to arrange a wide range of measures,” he said.

The U.K., which has appointed a designated loneliness minister in 2018, has an isolation problem with its older people, Sakamoto explains in his homepage. In Japan, on the other hand, loneliness afflicts across different age groups, including children, young people, women and older people, he observes, seeing the need for thorough research.

“In Japan, solitude can be seen as a virtue and something you are ultimately responsible for addressing yourself,” said Junko Okamoto, president of consultancy Glocomm and an expert on social isolation. “The government needs to swiftly conduct foundational research and craft strategy based on scientific evidence.”

“There is an understanding in the U.S. and Europe that the emotional toll of loneliness can lead to heart disease and numerous other conditions,” she said, adding that the creation of the new cabinet post could help raise awareness for the issue.

Hashimoto won bronze in speed skating at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, in 1992. Five months later she was back in action at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, this time as a cyclist. In all, she appeared at seven Games and went on to become vice president of the Japan Olympic Committee.

She has also been active in politics for decades. Hashimoto won her first seat in the Japanese Diet in 1995. She became State Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2008 and has served as the minister in charge of the Tokyo Games since September 2019.

Ministry officials believe the decline is likely due to support mechanisms introduced during the pandemic. They say 99% of schools extended tuition payment deadlines for the second term and 74% either reduced or waived tuition for students facing financial difficulties.

The government also rolled out a new national scholarship system for students from low income households last April. Officials say scholarships had been granted to nearly 270,000 students as of December.

But Professor Suetomi Kaori, a child poverty expert at Nihon University, believes the system is letting down students just above the scholarship threshold. She says many such students work to support their families and may eventually be forced to drop out if the pandemic continues.

The Japanese automaker has commissioned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, who designed the 2 World Trade Center in New York City and Google’s headquarters in California, to plan the layout of the city.

Toyota said the streets in Woven City will be designated for three type of usage — faster vehicles only, personal mobility and pedestrians and a pedestrians only promenade. The buildings will mostly be made of wood to minimize the carbon footprint, and the homes will use sensor-based AI to check the occupants’ health, it said.

– Outdoor sports rules for young people up to the age of 27 will be relaxed.

– Shopping by appointment is possible. Those who make an appointment at least four hours in advance may come to the store to pick up goods or, for example, fit clothes, etc. How time slots are managed is up to the stores, but only a maximum of two customers may be present on each floor at the same time and the face mask rule continues to apply.

The curfew will remain in effect for the time being, for now until 15 March. According to the cabinet, rules such as the curfew are what makes the current relaxation possible.

Residents and employees of nursing homes are given the Pfizer vaccine. In total, each person should receive two doses. The second dose should follow three to six weeks after the first injection. A significant part of the target group has therefore already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Other figures from RIVM show that vaccination is the cause of the improvement in the situation in nursing homes. Thus, the number of new infections among the rest of the population remained unabated. The health institute indicates the corona figures for the past week on Tuesday afternoon.

“We are deeply disappointed in this cabinet. The epidemiological situation is persistently held onto, while the medical parameters on which decisions are based change regularly. Meanwhile, the catering industry is becoming increasingly oppressed,” KHN chairman Rober Willemsen said to NU.nl. “The mandatory closure of the catering industry plus the fact that the support form the government does not cover 100% of the costs, means that many entrepreneurs face bankruptcy, with all the consequences – both business and private – that entails.”

The Ministry of Economic Affairs would not comment on the lawsuit to NU.nl, but did point out that the TVL scheme, which subsidizes some fixed costs for companies struggling under the lockdown, was expanded on 21 January. More entrepreneurs can make use of the aid and more support is granted. In the first week after the expanded scheme opened on 15 February, a massive 46,000 applications were received. 19,000 have already been approved, the Ministry said.

According to the LSVb, no coronavirus infection clusters were traced back to higher education when it had more space last year. “Students have proven through various initiatives that they can deal with the measures in a responsible manner. Therefore, give them the breathing space they need. Safety comes first in all cases,” Chiappino said.

If this does not improve soon, students will “not only start their lives with sky-high student debts, but if we are not careful, also with a huge developmental delay,” she said.

The intention is that the trees will be delivered in the autumn. The municipality hopes to especially encourage residents of areas with little greenery, like Escamp, Laak and the city center, to request a tree.

The Rijksmuseum aims to be off the natural gas network by 2030. And in the coming years, the museum wants to reduce its energy use by at least 2% per year. The building dates from 1885.