SNA (Tokyo) — The following stories were reported in the last half of May 2020 by the Shingetsu News Agency.

Rolling Coverage: Covid-19

—The Abe government indicates that it now has the capacity to conduct 22,000 PCR tests on a daily basis. Some observers have been critical of the government’s policy on Covid-19 testing, which has been a far smaller scale that many other comparable nations.

—Health Ministry clinical trials so far showing the drug Avigan, widely promoted by Shinzo Abe, and even sent as “aid” to other nations, may have little or no effect on treating Covid-19. Whatever the final results, it is clear that Abe was once again not waiting for facts.

—National Governors’ Association tells the central government that lifting the state of emergency should be done on a regional basis, not a prefectural basis. In other words, it should end in all Kanto prefectures simultaneously and likewise in the Kansai prefectures.

—National High School Baseball Championship at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, one of the nation’s most cherished annual rituals, to be cancelled this year over Covid-19 infection concerns. This is the first time this has occurred since the Pacific War.

—The Abe government is preparing to lift the Covid-19 state of emergency on the Kansai region on the 21st. For the time being, the Kanto region and Hokkaido will remain under the state of emergency.

—Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces the lifting of the Covid-19 state of emergency over the three relevant prefectures of the Kansai region, Osaka, Hyogo, and Kyoto.

—Yoshiko Sakurai states openly the obnoxious nationalist view why Covid-19 infections are down. It’s due to “the Japanese people’s higher public health consciousness, moral values, and sense of solidarity to overcome adversity.” Japanese are superior.

—Shinkansen services across the nation to return to normal or near-normal levels at the beginning of June, another sign that Japan is returning to a semblance of pre-Covid practices.

—Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike declares this “the home stretch” for the state of emergency in the metropolitan region. She will establish a “Tokyo Alert” system for residents. If a second wave brings more than fifty new cases daily, a second lockdown will be considered.

—Quite predictably, applications for the ¥100,000 Covid-19 relief payment are overwhelming local governments. Delays are continuing for most people. This is probably what the Finance Ministry wanted when it imposed the application process instead of making it automatic.

—Residents of rural prefectures are beginning to receive their Abenomasks only now, after the state of emergency in their areas has come and gone. This initiative, conceived personally by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his close aides, was truly a thorough fiasco.

—The Abe government is widely expected to announce the complete lifting of the national state of emergency this evening. It will probably also be accompanied by warnings for people and businesses to continue social distancing and other personal protective measures.

—Next supplementary budget may include a special ¥200,000 (US$1,870) payment for medical workers at hospitals who are treating Covid-19 patients. Eligibility issues still being figured out.

—Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formally declares an end to Japan’s Covid-19 state of emergency, asserting that some kind “Japan model” was successful in defeating the infection.

—Nationally, the week by week decline in the number of reported Covid-19 cases may have come to halt this week. With several days left to go, it appears possible that the number of new Covid-19 cases this week will be about the same, or maybe slightly higher, than last week.

—Kitakyushu city is witnessing signs of a second wave of Covid-19 infections, recording 22 new cases in five days after several weeks of zero cases. Public facilities that had just been reopened in recent days have been quickly shut once again.

—Yamato city, the same local government that passed the ordinance urging all citizens to wear face masks, is now preparing another ordinance against people walking while using smartphones.

—This past week the Abe government fully lifted the national state of emergency, but alarmingly there were also about 100 more reported Covid-19 cases, apparently reflecting the easing that had earlier taken place in much of the country. Kitakyushu emerged as a hotspot.

—Yomiuri Shinbun reports that travelers from Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand are likely to be the first to receive eased entry restrictions to Japan when the government decides to implement a more relaxed Covid-19 policy.

—Kyodo News poll also finds that 96% of Japanese surveyed are worried about a second wave of Covid-19 infection hitting Japan. The same Kyodo News poll finds that 81.2% of Japanese feel that the Abe government’s Covid-19 economic relief measures have been “slow.” Only 12.5% feel that the relief came quickly.

—Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura says that the government has no intention at the current juncture to reimpose a state of emergency for either Fukuoka Prefecture or Tokyo in spite of the rise in newly confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Rolling Coverage: Olympic Committee and the FCCJ

—Several sources have informed us that the FCCJ leadership is preparing to buckle under and censor its magazine art in accordance with the demand of the Tokyo Olympic Committee.

—FCCJ Articles of Association: “The objectives of this Association shall be… to defend the freedom of the press and the free exchange of information…” Or has it now become only a restaurant for senior citizens to reminisce about the past? We shall see shortly.

—NHK article makes pretty clear that the Tokyo Olympic Committee is threatening the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) with a lawsuit unless it censors its magazine art.

—Japanese rightwingers smell blood in the water, with calls for the FCCJ to be dissolved and others declaring it a nest of “anti-Japanese” sentiment and even terrorists. Worst of all, the current FCCJ leadership is poorly equipped to give this campaign the rejection it needs.

—Tokyo Olympics organizing committee on FCCJ magazine art: “At a time of great suffering, it is inconsiderate to many people, especially the athletes from all over the world who had been aiming to compete at the games. It is an undignified act.”

—FCCJ President Khaldon Azhari announces a total surrender to the Tokyo Olympic committee, pulling the controversial cover. He claims it has nothing to do with freedom of the press and even offers an apology.

—Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto denies that any threat of legal action was implicit in its “request” to the FCCJ to remove its magazine cover, undermining the key contention of FCCJ President Khaldon Azhari that the legal threat forced his organization’s hand to comply.

—Asahi Shinbun quotes Japanese legal experts who believe that the FCCJ might have won a freedom of expression case had the Tokyo Olympic committee actually pressed a copyright lawsuit. The FCCJ board’s preemptive surrender looking even weaker.

Rolling Coverage: Shinzo Abe Scandals

—The Abe government has reportedly decided to delay its attempt to ram through the legislation to further corrupt the prosecutor’s office after seeing a steep fall in its public support rating. However, they currently intend to make another run at it in the autumn.

—The Abe government may lose its prosecutor stooge anyway. Prosecutor Hiromu Kurokawa has been accused of engaging in illegal gambling on mahjong with a Japanese journalist. The Komeito Party has already said that if charges are true, he must resign.

—Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s contention that his government’s prosecutor corruption legislation was independently proposed by the Ministry of Justice is meeting with a scathing reception. Once again, Abe and his friends show little regard for truth. Lying is their reflex.

—Hiromu Kurokawa, the senior prosecutor who forever tarnished his long career by trying to become a loyal factotum to the Abe government, submits his resignation after it comes out he gambled on mahjong games together with Japanese mainstream journalists.

—Cherry Blossom Party Scandal: A criminal complaint has been filed against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on suspicion that he violated election funding laws for shouldering part of his supporters’ hotel event expenses. Around 660 lawyers and legal scholars filed the complaint.

Politics

—The Abe government appears to be getting serious about changing the national education system to begin the school year in September. The Cabinet Office is setting up a team of senior bureaucrats to study the legal revisions needed to bring the new system to fruition.

—Many lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are now trying to kill the initiative to shift the beginning of the Japanese school year from April to September, with former Abe aide Hiroshige Seko leading the charge to keep the current system.

—Asahi Shinbun poll has a bevy of bad news for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It has his Cabinet support rate dropping from 41% to 33%; it has 57% saying he failed to exercise leadership on Covid-19; and it has 64% opposing his bid to further corrupt the prosecutor’s office.

—Mainichi Shinbun poll finds a sharp 13 point drop in the Abe Cabinet’s approval rating to 27%. The disapproval rate jumped nineteen points to 64%. When a Cabinet falls below 30%, it’s generally a sign that it is about to collapse, unless the rebound comes quickly.

—Prospects for the Kawai couple darken as a political secretary to House of Councillors lawmaker Anri Kawai admits bribery charges. Both Anri and her husband, former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, look likely to fall in this ruling party election law scandal.

—Rightwing lawmakers within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Yoshitaka Shindo, demanding that all residents of Japan be forced to link their MyNumber to their bank accounts. They want all disaster relief payments made conditional on doing so.

—Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi suggests those who engage in “cyberbullying” may have their anonymity stripped away from them at the request of those targeted, according to new policies that the government is now considering after the apparent suicide of Hana Kimura.

—Government announces that of the 8,461 national public employees hired on April 1, a total of 3,117, or 36.8%, are women. This is a record high figure. Among the candidates from executive positions in the ministries, the proportion of women is 35.4%, also a record.

—Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie (Horiemon) said to be preparing to run in the July 5 Tokyo gubernatorial election against incumbent Yuriko Koike.

—Opposition parties still can’t decide whether to fight the Tokyo gubernatorial election or just to concede it to Yuriko Koike. Of course, if they are so incompetent that they haven’t been preparing for a long time, then it’s probably not a very salient issue to start with.

—Former Japan Federation of Bar Associations Chairman Kenji Utsunomiya to make a third run for the office of Tokyo Governor. In his previous two runs (2012 and 2014) he came in second both times, in the latter with nearly 20% of the vote. He was backed by the Communists, etc.

—The Horiemon New Party has been established by Protect the Nation from NHK leader Takashi Tachibana. Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie (Horiemon) now expected to run as a candidate in the July 5 Tokyo gubernatorial race.

International

—Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games CEO Toshiro Muto admits that next year’s Olympics may not be “conventional.” This seems to be an acknowledgment that even the one year delay may not have solved all the problems for the 2020 Olympics.

—The Abe government joins calls for an investigation of the World Health Organization’s initial response to the Covid-19 crisis. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi suggests that WHO cannot be trusted to investigate Covid-19’s origins because it is not “an independent body.”

—Japan Foreign Ministry: “It is the long-standing policy of Japan to attach great importance to upholding a free and open system which Hong Kong has been enjoying and the democratic and stable development of Hong Kong under the ‘One Country Two System’ framework.”

—Ruling party lawmakers and others are urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to rescind his invitation for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Japan. While Abe has for many months compromised to make the visit happen, events are making it increasingly difficult.

—After first Covid-19 case on Kunashir, Japan worried visa-free trips to the disputed islands may not occur in 2020. Japanese government source: “The four islands will be more cautious about the movement of people and the start of the visa-free trips may be further delayed.”

—Russian Foreign Ministry criticizes Japan’s reversion to an explicit claim to the Northern Territories in its Diplomatic Bluebook. Maria Zakharova: “Such a step directly contradicts the task set at the highest level to create a favorable atmosphere in bilateral relations.”

—Japan launches Space Operations Squadron; and Defense Minister Taro Kono declares, “It’s important that we gain superiority in the domain of space as well.” This small unit seems mostly designed to work with the new US Space Force.

—Defense Ministry unveils the Howa Type 20 Assault Rifle, which will become the first new rifle for the Ground Self-Defense Forces in over three decades.

Economy

—The fact that Japan is now in an economic recession confirmed after new data shows a 0.9% contraction (3.4% annualized) in the economy. The last couple of quarters have wiped out much of the gains made in several years under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his “Abenomics.”

—Abe government decides to move forward with plan to offer university students up to ¥200,000 (US$1,870) in aid. Many students have lost their part-time jobs and can no longer afford their studies.

—Chubu Region Institute for Social and Economic Research estimates that more than 3 million jobs could be lost in Japan by next March as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, though this is presented as a worst case scenario.

—Former US Green Beret Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor have been arrested in Massachusetts by the US authorities in accordance with requests by the Shinzo Abe government. They are accused of helping Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan at the end of last year.

—Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Japan aims for “a speedy extradition” of Michael and Peter Taylor from the United States. It is thought that the key factor will be the credibility of Japan’s evidence that they assisted Carlos Ghosn’s escape from the country.

—French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire states that “Renault could disappear.” Both Nissan and Renault have been in a free fall since Japanese nationalist Nissan executives launched their November 2018 coup against Carlos Ghosn. They had no strategy, only nationalist “pride.”

—Both of Kyushu Electric’s nuclear reactors at Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, are now suspended pending implementation of various anti-terrorism measures. It is expected to be many months before operations are restored. Only five reactors now operating in Japan.

GreenTech

—Rakuten Mobile, citing the Covid-19 crisis, says that it will not be able to meet its June target for offering 5G services. It now expects a roughly three month delay beyond June before the rollout. The other three carriers launched their 5G services in late March.

Society

—Shinji Aoba, suspected of killing 36 people and injuring 33 others in last year’s Kyoto Animation arson attack, is finally arrested, having recovered sufficiently from his own burns. Many of the victims were young female artists in their 20s and 30s.

—Tokyo is also experiencing a “police brutality” protest against a Kurdish resident. Fortunately, this isn’t Minneapolis, so no one is getting murdered. Rather, it’s pushing and shoving and yelling. Nevertheless, an angry protest took place today in front of Shibuya Police Station, accusing police of brutality and racism against foreigners.

—Lawmaker Taiga Ishikawa adds a more alarming fact about the Shibuya police violence. He says that police seized the video footage from the friend who filmed it and erased it from the phone. It was restored only because backed up on the cloud.

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