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

Rolling Coverage: Covid-19

—The earlier demand led by Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura that specific numerical criteria about new cases should determine Covid-19 policies has now been entirely discarded. The numbers are going up, while political will to reimpose restrictions is evaporating.

—Health Minister Katsunobu Kato says that Covid-19 testing centers to be established near Narita, Haneda, and Kansai airports. They will likely be privately operated but with a lot of government support.

—Abe government mulling new legislation to introduce legal punishments for those who disobey official Covid-19 business suspension and quarantine orders. This is the same Abe government that was arguing a month ago that the (damn) Constitution made such measures impossible.

—After Tokyo reports another 131 Covid-19 cases today, Governor Yuriko Koike asks residents not to leave the Tokyo Metropolitan District, so as not to spread the infection once again around the country. This is the first restriction request of Japan’s Covid-19 second wave.

—Including the Diamond Princess, the number of officially confirmed Covid-19 cases has now passed the 20,000 mark. There have been 990 confirmed deaths in Japan from the pandemic.

—Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares that there is “no need” to declare a renewed Covid-19 state of emergency. He doesn’t give any particular reasons, but it is fair to assume that economic and business interests are against it, and much of the public too has become weary.

—Saitama Governor Motohiro Ono: “We shouldn’t be optimistic about the rapid spread of the infection. In the future, I would like to request a declaration of a state of emergency, if necessary.”

—Jiji Press reports that trust has largely broken down between Shinzo Abe and the Covid-19 medical expert panel. Abe has been rather consistently dismissing calls for tougher lockdown measures and has been more worried about the impacts on the Japanese economy.

—Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike again taking an initiative that should be coming from the central government. She says she will establish a Tokyo version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create long-term policies to deal with the coronavirus, etc.

—Japan News Network poll finds that only 17% of Japanese believe that the Tokyo Olympics will be able to be held next year as planned.

—Hints emerging that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and the Shinzo Abe government are still not on the same page regarding Covid-19: Koike seems to be inching back toward a call for restrictions, while the Abe government opposes any measures that might impact the economy.

—The 220+ new Covid-19 cases reported in Tokyo today are not simply the most of the second wave. This figure also represents the highest number of new cases reported for the Tokyo Metropolitan District since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

—Comforting itself that the number of severely ill Covid-19 patients is very low (fewer than ten people), the Abe government appears to still be of the mind to relax coronavirus restrictions even as the second wave accelerates. Events gathering 5,000 people now permitted.

—The odd disconnect between the Covid-19 trajectory in Japan and the policies of the Abe government continues. The administration believes now is the time to discuss lifting travel restrictions with neighboring countries, even as it eases countermeasures at home as well.

—Fujita Health University study finds that the drug Avigan, promoted nationally and internationally by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe against the advice of his own experts, in fact has no “statistically significant” impact on treating Covid-19 patients.

—For the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 second wave, Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura says that the government is “considering” renewed business suspension orders in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures.

—The Covid-19 second wave is also appearing in Osaka. According to the strictly numerical “Osaka model” warning system, the 32 new cases recorded in the prefecture today constitute a “Yellow Light” for the reemergence of the pandemic.

—Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Edano calls for the government to reinstitute “state of emergency” measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. He criticizes the “political inaction” of the Abe government in the face of rising numbers of infections.

—In response to growing numbers of new Covid-19 infections and the “Yellow Light” warning, the Osaka Prefectural Government is requesting residents not to visit nightlife entertainment districts for the rest of July.

—Having fallen under 700 active Covid-19 cases around June 20, about three weeks later the number of active cases in Japan is now back above 3,000 patients.

—Just to be clear: The Shinzo Abe government says it is now okay to hold public events in Tokyo with up to 5,000 people gathered in one place, but it is not okay to let foreigners with Japan permanent residency who are trapped overseas to return to their jobs and families.

—Japan Federation of Medical Worker’s Unions reports many medical workers are having summer bonuses cut, effectively taking a pay cut, because Covid-19 put hospitals in financial difficulties. Jets may fly over Tokyo to “thank” medical workers, but real situation deteriorates. About 400 nurses of Tokyo Women’s Medical University have reportedly quit their jobs after the announcement came down that they would receive no summer bonus. Other medical care workers are going on strike, or considering going on strike.

—The Abe government launches the tone deaf “Go To Travel” tourism promotion campaign in the midst of the Covid-19 second wave. A hashtag calling for the suspension of the campaign, trends on Japanese Twitter.

—Yamagata Governor Mieko Yoshimura denounces the Abe government’s “Go To Travel” tourism promotion campaign: “With the coronavirus situation in the capital region and heavy rain disaster, is this really the time to start such a campaign?”

—Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike issues a “Level 4” coronavirus warning, the successor to the now-defunct “Tokyo Alert” system. What does it mean? What does it require? Umm, none of that is really clear.

Rolling Coverage: US Military Bases

—US Marines admit that there are “several” Covid-19 cases at Futenma base in Okinawa. In line with the practice of the US military in Japan, they refuse to disclose details to the public, and perhaps not even to the Japanese government.

—As the Shinzo Abe government lifts restrictions, even as the Covid-19 second wave hits the nation, the US military in Japan is taking the opposite approach, locking down their military bases in Tokyo, Okinawa, and elsewhere.

—US Marines in Okinawa finally confirm that Covid-19 has gotten out of control on their bases. They admit that 61 new coronavirus cases have been diagnosed this week at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen

—While the total figure is unclear, it appears that nearly 100 US Marines in Okinawa have now contracted Covid-19 over the past week or so. These numbers are not being counted as part of Japan’s total number of infections because… well… it’s not apparent why.

—US Forces Japan commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider has banned the Confederate Battle Flag from all US bases in Japan: “The Confederate Battle Flag does not represent the values of US Forces assigned to serve in Japan,” he explained in his order.

—There are now reports of “multiple” cases of Covid-19 infections at Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, but again even a pandemic and a global health emergency doesn’t mean the US military will provide specifics to the Japanese public or the host communities.

—Many of the Covid-19 infected US military people in Okinawa, who are not covered in Japan’s statistics on the infected, are not even staying on base, but in a civilian hotel. Apparently, even Kadena Air Base is too small.

—Revealed that at least three US military personnel who tested positive for Covid-19 took a domestic commercial flight to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in violation of guidelines prohibiting their use public transportation in Japan.

—US Marines now seem to be cooperating better with the Okinawa Prefectural Government. They say there are now 136 Covid-19 cases at Futenma and Camp Hansen. These numbers are still not being treated as “Japan” cases in the daily figures, however, as if it were another planet.

—As if the many problems of the anachronistic US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) weren’t clear enough, Covid-19 has exposed once again the many ways that the bases supposedly meant to keep Japan “safe” actually expose it to additional public dangers.

—Let’s get this straight too: Permanent residents of Japan trapped abroad are being prevented from returning to their jobs and families, while at the same time Covid-19 positive US Marines can freely enter through the civilian airports with effectively no immigration control.

Rolling Coverage: Tokyo Gubernatorial Elections

—Yuriko Koike has already been declared the winner of the Tokyo gubernatorial elections, seconds after the polls closed.

—Yuriko Koike, as expected, won in a landslide. She gained 3,661,371 votes, or 59.7% of the total, a dominant performance. She probably won it this spring with her strong leadership in the Covid-19 crisis, but this was confirmed when the left opposition split.

—Kenji Utsunomiya once again placed second, but this time with only 844,151 votes (13.8%). In his last outing in 2014, Utsunomiya had gained 20.2% of the vote. A large reason for this decline was no doubt that many of his natural voters went to Taro Yamamoto.

—Taro Yamamoto squeaked into third place with only 657,277 votes (10.7%). This is far fewer than he gained in the recent House of Councillors election. Yamamoto already had a high public profile and probably only hurt his cause by joining this election.

—The two viable candidates of the left, Utsunomiya and Yamamoto, together gained 24.5% of the vote. That’s really not a very good performance, and it shows how far Japan’s left still needs to go before they can credibly challenge for power.

—Taisuke Ono went from being a vice-governor in Kyushu nobody had ever heard of to a strong fourth place finish with 612,530 votes (10.0%), almost overtaking Taro Yamamoto. He did himself a lot of good in terms of recognition and will no doubt land somewhere.

—Extreme racist Makoto Sakurai, sadly, placed fifth with 178,784 votes (2.9%). This is a man who calls for outright discrimination against resident Koreans and others. He could be called Japan’s David Duke in terms of his position in national politics.

—The last candidate of any significance, Takashi Tachibana, placed sixth with 43,912 votes (0.7%). This would clearly be a disappointing result for him, and it suggests that many Japanese have tired of his antics. His anti-NHK party may start to fade soon.

—The scope of Yuriko Koike’s victory in the Tokyo gubernatorial elections has reportedly worried some lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who fear that she might again challenge their hold on power at the national level.

Rolling Coverage: Russia Relations

—Head of International Affairs Committee of Russian Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev: “We are not discussing a territorial question with Japan. Only a peace treaty is being discussed. In theory, Russian territory could become larger, but it will never become smaller.”

—Frants Klintsevich, Russian Senate Committee on Defense, says that thanks to the revised constitution, “all discussion is over” about the Southern Kurils. No matter who is in power in the future, they won’t be able to return to this topic because “the people won’t allow it.”

—Russian Senator Aleksei Pushkov on the revised constitution and its ban on territorial concessions: “Japan continues with its claims but the prospects of Moscow renouncing sovereignty over the Southern Kurils is now, in my opinion, zero. This is the final answer.”

—Tomoko Tamura of the Japan Communist Party asks why the Abe government has not strongly protested Russia’s ban on territorial concessions in its revised constitution. She also repeats the JCP’s claim that all of the Kuril chain is Japan’s territory.

—Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi says that he intends to continue tenaciously negotiating with Russia based on the basic policy of resolving the territorial issue and signing a peace treaty, i.e. no change in Abe government’s policy after Russia’s constitutional revision.

—Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: “We hear from our Japanese neighbors that we’ll be ready to conclude a peace treaty as soon as we solve the territorial issue. This is not what we’ve agreed. We agreed to concentrate on concluding a peace treaty, as the 1956 declaration requires.” Lavrov also sets out a vision of what a peace treaty with Japan should look like: It should reflect the modern nature of relations, and not the situation at the end of the war. It should include economic and security issues, a vision of foreign policy cooperation, and more. Lavrov: “While we have proposed such conceptual foundations for such an agreement, so far our Japanese colleagues do not specifically respond to such a conception.” Russia and Japan disagree, not just on territorial issues, but also on what a peace treaty would look like.

Rolling Coverage: Kyushu Floods

—An emergency policy room has been set up in the Prime Minister’s Official Residence (Kantei) to track very heavy rainfall hitting Kyushu island. Extreme rainfall and flooding proving to be a serious impact of climate change on Japan in recent years.

—The torrential rains in Kyushu are now officially lethal, with Kumamoto Prefecture appearing to be the worst hit. It will take some time for the death toll to be known, but presently it looks like it will, at minimum, exceed 20 people. Many died at a single home for elderly.

—The Kuma River in Kumamoto Prefecture appears to be at heart of the disaster, overflowing its banks at some locations. GSDF helicopters were brought in to rescue some residents from their roof. Heavy rains may continue tomorrow.

—The human toll from the rains and floods, mainly in Kyushu, is currently put at 69 dead and 13 others listed as missing. Kumamoto remains the hardest-hit prefecture.

—Evacuation centers struggling to maintain social distancing policies in Kyushu and elsewhere as local populations arrive at their doors due to floods. A larger number than usual of evacuees are opting to sleep in their cars, in spite of the danger of economy class syndrome.

—The lethal floods along the Kuma River in Kumamoto have ignited a local debate over whether the deaths were preventable. The potential for flooding was recognized by the 1960s, but building a planned dam and other countermeasures were never implemented on cost concerns.

Politics

—Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso favors calling a snap general election this autumn. His opinion is very influential because he is almost the only major political ally that Shinzo Abe has left. There’s ample reason to think that Aso might persuade Abe to his view.

—Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan expected to hold its first leadership election in September. Although his policies have been repeatedly failing this past year, it is thought that no one will contest leader Yukio Edano and that he will win without a vote.

—Abe government forced by a Supreme Court judgment to let three local governments, led by Izumisano city, Osaka, rejoin the Hometown Tax (furusato nozei) system. The government wanted to exclude them because of their elaborate gifts to attract taxpayer donors.

—Rightwing ideologue and failed former Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada indicates that she plans to run for the post of LDP President, and therefore Prime Minister. She claims that her elevation would bring a “female perspective” to national politics.

—Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his lawmaker wife Anri Kawai formally indicted on charges of vote buying and bribery.

—Democratic Party For the People allows Shiori Yamao to join their political party. However, they make no promises as regards the electoral district or candidate format she will run in for the next general election.

—Prosecutors decline to indict former top Tokyo prosecutor Hiromu Kurokawa on illegal gambling and bribery charges in spite of the fact that his guilt in terms of the gambling is admitted. The excuse is that the bets were small and that he already suffered social punishment.

—Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda denies that Japanese attitudes and policies toward Ainu constituted “discrimination,” as is the official government stance. Hagiuda says the focus should be on “forward-looking culture” rather than just dwelling on “sad things” of the past.

—Strange results in Kagoshima gubernatorial race: Independent newcomer Koichi Shiota wins, beating LDP and Komeito-backed incumbent Satoshi Mitazono and the candidates backed by national opposition parties. The ruling party is shaken by the unexpected defeat. Defeated Governor Satoshi Mitazono was elected in 2016 on a platform of immediately shutting down the Sendai nuclear power plant. About two months after his election, he effectively gave up his anti-nuclear stance. That’s probably why he was supported by the LDP this time.

—In a positive move, it appears Defense Minister Taro Kono is taking the issue of amakudari seriously: More than 20 officers have been reprimanded for “inaccurately interpreting the law” that forbids them from helping retiring senior officers to get high-level civilian jobs.

—Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan reverses its stance: They offer to the Democratic Party For the People a mutual dissolution of both parties and then the legal creation of an entirely new centrist opposition party under the CDPJ name.

International

—Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga describes the de facto end of China’s “One Country, Two Systems” policy as “regrettable.” The Abe government has so far shown no intention whatsoever of supporting the people fighting for democratic freedoms in Hong Kong. It must be noted, moreover, that it is not just the Abe government. The Japanese people themselves have been indifferent to the Hong Kong struggle all along. We are not aware of any significant pro-democracy protest in support of the people of Hong Kong occurring in Japan.

—LDP Foreign Affairs Division and LDP Research Commission on Foreign Affairs prepare to demand the Abe government to cancel the invitation for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Japan. “We cannot just stand by and watch” China destroy human rights in Hong Kong, they argue.

—Citing the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party adopts an official resolution calling upon the Abe government to withdraw its invitation for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Japan.

—Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi: “Japan invests in the United States, builds factories, procures parts, and establishes distribution channels, making a huge contribution to employment and the overall economy. We have communicated concerns that the visa halt could affect this.”

—European Parliament passes resolution noting they are “concerned over the high number of parental child abduction cases due to the reluctance of Japanese authorities to comply with international law.” Parental abduction remains a problem the Abe government won’t address.

Economy

—Itochu offers about US$5.6 billion to increase its stake in the convenience store chain FamilyMart from 50.1% to 100%, which would make it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the trading company.

—Tokyo Shoko Research survey finds that more than a quarter of Japanese companies nationwide fall into this category: They set up remote working policies during the Covid-19 state of emergency period, but have since abandoned remote working completely.

GreenTech

—Japanese government finally beginning to get the message on coal: About 100 of the country’s 140 coal-fired generators to be phased out by FY2030. Most of those to be closed will be the older, less efficient plants.

—Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform urges the government to systematically promote digitization, including the end of paper-based administration, a stop to the use of personal seals, and encouragement of online meetings rather than in-person meetings. A key argument used by the Council is that the Covid-19 crisis revealed that Japan’s outdated management systems cannot adequately cope with emergency situations, and now is the time to start addressing those vulnerabilities.

—Shizuoka Governor Heita Kawakatsu officially notifies JR Central that it must stop construction of the Chuo Shinkansen maglev, part of which is to run through Shizuoka. The governor feels that environmental protection measures are insufficient.

—In an online meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, one of the top issues they highlighted was the mutual pledge to strengthen bilateral cooperation on the development and deployment of 5G technologies.

Society

—There were Black Lives Matter marches in both Hiroshima (BLM Hiroshima) and Nagoya (BLM Tokai). It looks likely that this will complete the current wave of BLM marches in various Japanese cities. Now these new organizations face the challenge of institutionalizing.

—About 50 protesters marched through the streets of Koriyama city, Fukushima Prefecture, opposing the proposal to dump treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean. Not only have their been very few street protests in Fukushima, this one, unusually, was led by young people.

—A likely unprecedented combined Hong Kong-Uyghur protest march took place in Shibuya, gathering about 300 people. It seems that the majority of the participants were people from Hong Kong, and they were the organizers.

—Justice Ministry panel calls for criminal penalties against foreigners who refuse deportation, including imprisonment and fines. Those who assist foreigners in avoiding deportation, including lawyers, might also become subject to criminal charges.

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