This problem may have haunted many people who are concerned about the epidemic. Last night (26th), the news that Japan “urgently announced” that the approval of foreigners would be suspended for admission for a month quickly became popular, and a somewhat exaggerated report of “feeclosure” and “closed country” once again pulled everyone’s attention from Europe and the United States to Japan, which has been called “model students” in the fight against the epidemic.
At present, there are only a few months left before the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games. The intensification of the epidemic in Japan and the doubts of all parties have posed challenges on the way to the Olympic Games as scheduled.
Can Japan “do miracles vigorously”? I’m afraid the answer to the question is not just in Japan.
Unlike the previous restrictions on entry that were only targeted at specific countries, Japan is aimed at “foreigners” this time. Although it does not apply to Japanese nationals, resident foreigners and business people from some countries and regions, it is unprecedented.
Since November, Japan has added more than 3,000 new cases in a single day, and the mutant novel coronavirus has also begun to appear in Japan. Some foreign media say that Japan is “in the quagmire of the third wave of the epidemic”, and some foreign media even put forward the argument that “Japan’s epidemic is completely out of control”.
The last time the world paid so much attention to the Japanese epidemic was before the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, at that time, the daily new cases reported by Japanese media in Japan were not more than 100, which was not as large and more serious as the current epidemic, and there was no major variable of “mutant viruses that make it infectious or increase by 40% to 70%”.
The first batch of mutant virus infections were found in China on the 25th, and the next day, it announced that the approval of foreigners would be suspended. In a short period of time, Japan’s response could be said to be rapid.
However, Japan’s heavy punch should not only consider curbing the spread of mutant viruses. Many people have turned their eyes to whether the Tokyo Olympic Games can be successfully held in a few months.
From the common sense, to hold such a large-scale international event, the remarkable effect of epidemic prevention and control is probably a necessary “pass”. This “pass” affects the Japanese government’s heavy “Olympic complex”.
The 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games was regarded as a symbol of Japan’s post-war revival, and the re-hosting of the Olympic Games was also regarded as an opportunity for Japan to “start again”. But the chaos of the epidemic undoubtedly overshadowed everything.
Not only do foreigners have doubts about hosting the Olympic Games in the epidemic, but even in Japan, the position of the government and the people on hosting the Olympic Games has been biased.
At the 75th special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the coronavirus epidemic on December 4, the government promised the world that the Olympic Games would be held as scheduled.
At the Tokyo seminar on the 21st, he also declared that he was determined to hold a safe Olympic Games next year as evidence of mankind’s victory over the novel coronavirus. Ambition can be seen, but the views of Japanese people seem negative.
According to a poll released by the Japan Broadcasting Association on December 15, 63% of adult respondents believe that next year’s Olympic Games should be suspended or postponed, compared with 48% two months ago.
The public’s doubts are understandable. After all, one of the biggest changes in Japan in the past two months is the arrival of a third wave of the epidemic, which is more serious than before.
If the situation does not improve effectively, how to deal with the huge passenger flow in the Olympic Games? Japan’s suspension of approval of new immigration applications for foreigners for up to a month may stop the spread of the mutant virus in Japan, allowing Japan to raise “internal injuries” and hand in a satisfactory answer without being less affected by the foreign epidemic.
But what about a month later? What about seven months later? When Japan’s door opens again a month later, have other countries curbed the spread of mutant viruses? Are there still hundreds of thousands of new cases in a single day still worrying about the world? When the Tokyo Olympic Games come to us seven months later, can the people of the world easily embark on the Olympic journey?
Again, the virus knows no borders. The new Olympic Games fell in Japan, but the answer to success lies in the world. Any international sports event that wants to be held safely, completely and lively is not a matter of one country, one place, especially for the top event and the Olympic Games.
Without the universal victory of mankind in fighting the epidemic and the opening of layers of prevention and control barriers around the world, it is difficult to say that a high-quality and popular Olympic Games can be successfully held.
It is not enough to “close down” to prevent and control the epidemic, nor is Japan alone. Nearly a year after the epidemic has raging, the prevention and control results of various countries have long been very different.
At this time, it is more and more important to learn from each other and find leaks and fill gaps. However, some countries that are still at the epicenter of the epidemic, regardless of their own problems, continue to slander other countries, sanction other countries, and even hoard vaccines, destroying the atmosphere of international cooperation.
Such evil deeds can be called the accomplice of the virus. More than ever, we need all governments and people to work together to take the epidemic seriously, put a scientific attitude and a spirit of cooperation, stop malicious accusations and strife, and responsibly concentrate all our efforts on the fight against the virus.
Can Japan “do miracles vigorously”? At this time, it is necessary to appeal to the world again: put down my short-sightedness and unite to fight the epidemic. This should be the same global urgency after Japan’s “emergency announcement”.
