January 8th, Tokyo and the surrounding Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures were again in a state of emergency for a month – but this time, the measure focused on the catering industry, which was relatively lenient than the first emergency declaration issued last April.
Reporter’s Observation: Tokyo – Declaration of Emergency
The restaurant industry is the main aspect of this emergency declaration.
The government calls for restaurants to close before 8 p.m., which is a big blow to the large number of restaurants that do not open after 6 p.m.
Yuji Kanai opened a restaurant in a residential area of Tokyo.
After last year’s poor operation, he was once again worried about shortening business hours.
Restaurant operator Yuji Kanai: Foreign tourists have decreased a lot, business hours have been shortened, and passers-by have also decreased sharply. Even when we pass by, we feel inconvenient to come in.
We are greatly affected and really distressed.
It’s beyond my reach, but I will still make all kinds of preparations, accumulate energy to maintain the store and wait for new opportunities.
Some restaurants simply temporarily closed because the revenue from shortening business hours is not enough to support manual utilities.
But walking out of the dining street, it seems that you can’t see the impact of the emergency declaration.
General Station Reporter Wang Meng: After the emergency declaration was issued, we walked away in Tokyo, and there was no significant decrease in personnel.
Moreover, according to this measure, shopping malls can continue to operate, cinemas can continue to operate, and even large-scale events can continue to operate as long as a certain number of people is controlled, so it looks like It is a declaration of less urgent state of emergency.
The Japanese government’s declaration of emergency can be said to be very entangled. The tangled point is that it wants to control the epidemic and does not want to have too much impact on the economy.
However, the existence of the epidemic is the biggest hidden danger to the economy – according to the data of Tokyo Business and Industry Survey, more than 100 enterprises closed down in Japan last April, which increased to more than 400 in August, and restaurants accounted for 17% of the epidemic-related closures in January and October.
Hiroyuki Kishi, a professor at Keio University in Japan: One big problem is that the epidemic began to spread last year and many restaurants closed down.
Restaurants that persist are facing the situation in January and February this year, because more restaurants and small and medium-sized enterprises may close down due to this emergency declaration.
It is understandable to hope to find a balance between epidemic prevention and the economy, but watching people coming and going on the streets of Tokyo also makes people ask: Will this emergency declaration work?
Can the Tokyo Olympic Games be held as scheduled? The coronavirus epidemic is severe. The people in Tokyo lack confidence.
Dick Pound, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee from Canada, said on the 8th that he was “not sure whether the Tokyo Olympic Games could be held as scheduled this summer” due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Pound proposed at the end of February last year that the Tokyo Olympic Games may not be held in 2020, and he was the first member of the International Olympic Committee to make similar remarks.
More than a month later, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee jointly announced that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be postponed to this year.
Although the Japanese government and Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee have repeatedly stressed their determination to “host a safe and secure Olympic Games” – some Tokyo residents said in an interview that they also felt that the Olympic Games would not be held as scheduled.
Local residents: Considering the current epidemic situation, I think it is likely that the Olympic Games will not be held, and I also hope that the government will make a decision to cancel the Olympic Games.
Local residents: I think it’s better to postpone it again or cancel it altogether.
Some people also think that even if the Olympic Games are held, it will not be a “normal Olympic Games”.
Local residents: The athletes are all training hard. Maybe they can keep the audience out of the stadium.
People cheered the athletes online. I think the Olympic Games must be opened for athletes.
Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee promotes preparations The International Olympic Committee is full of confidence
The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee issued a statement on the 8th that although Tokyo and the surrounding three counties have been declared a state of emergency, the preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games will still be “scrucifully advanced” and the Olympic Games will be held as scheduled this summer.
On the same day, the International Olympic Committee also issued a statement on the state of emergency in Tokyo, expressing full confidence in the smooth hosting of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The statement said: “The International Olympic Committee has full confidence in the Japanese side and the epidemic prevention measures they have taken.
Together with our partners in Japan, we will continue to focus on preparing for the successful 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiro Kan reiterated on the 7th that the Japanese government’s determination to host the Tokyo Olympic Games remained unchanged after declaring a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and its surrounding three counties.
In the seven days since 2021, he has expressed his determination to hold the Olympic Games as scheduled on three different occasions.
