Japan’s decision to exclude most foreigners, including many foreign residents, from entering or reentering the national borders during the Covid pandemic has had a human and reputational cost which the mainstream media has tended to either ignore or to downplay.
Despite the drastic decrease of new Covid cases in recent weeks and more than two-thirds of the population having become fully vaccinated, the Japanese government has still given no explanation why it is continuing to refuse to let international students and some foreign workers back into the country.
Japan is increasingly struggling with income inequality and poverty, but the burden is not shared equally between the genders; impoverished women suffer the most.
Although Japan is commonly thought to have one of the lowest poverty rates among G7 nations, the actual figures tell a different story, puncturing a myth that remains dear to some Japanese conservatives and other observers.
In comparison to other G7 nations, Japan has been taking a weak approach to the recent coup in Myanmar, led by the country’s Tatmadaw, or military forces. This includes Japan’s refusal to impose sanctions, official statements that have been widely viewed as being too soft, and a reference to the Myanmar military’s top diplomat as being the “foreign minister.”
Dateline Tokyo, our series of short reports on major news developments in Japan, for August 2020
How bad does it have to get? I’m talking about Japan’s cruelty and meanness towards its Non-Japanese residents. How bad before people think to step in and stop it? With Covid-19, we might have an answer.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of June 2020.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of June 2020.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of March 2020.
