Caster Jiro Shinbo appeared on Nippon Broadcasting System’s “Jiro Shinbo Zoom So Far!” and pointed out that Japan is one year behind the rest of the world no matter what it does, regarding the government’s final adjustment to position the new coronavirus under the Infectious Diseases Act from April 1, in the direction of making it “5”, the same as seasonal influenza. According to the Sankei Shimbun, the government has made final adjustments to classify the novel coronavirus as a “type 5,” the same as seasonal influenza, in principle from April 1 under the Infectious Disease Law. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will consult with his relevant ministers on the 20th to assess the infection status and make a decision. The government plans to significantly revise measures against the coronavirus, including public support for medical institutions and patients, and make it unnecessary to wear masks indoors in principle.
Shinbo pointed out that Japan is a year behind the world in terms of responding to the coronavirus, citing examples such as the UK stopping testing healthy people to reveal infected people in February 2020, and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand having very strict entry requirements for the past two years. Even China, which was representative of the severity of movement restrictions, turned to easing restrictions in early December last year.
Shinbo also noted that if the status of the infection law is changed from April 1, the risk of death among the elderly will decrease, as coronavirus will be treated as a normal disease and people who were originally supposed to be saved will not die due to lack of admission to specialized wards.
With the relaxation of the new coronavirus to “5 types” from April, the government is hoping to ease the restrictions on movement and entry conditions, and return to a more normal life. However, it is clear that Japan is lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of responding to the coronavirus.
