Coronavirus - Are Still-Open Pubs the 21st Century Version of the Black Market that Brought Japan to Life?

Osaka where the Request was issued based on emergency measures. The majority of restaurants where alcohol accounts for the majority of sales have been closed for dinner since August 2. The night town of Osaka has become silent.

However, this is a "request", not a "command". If the request is followed, a flat rate of 60,000 yen a day will be provided for each restaurant. However, there are no legal penalties for not complying. Restaurants that are still open just don't get paid for the cooperation.

The photo above is a crowd of Japanese people flocking to "Yami Ichi" after the defeat of World War II. "Yami Ichi" is a black market formed by people who can't stand the control of the wartime economic system, which puts most of the daily necessities such as rice, clothing, and daily necessities under distribution control.

Perhaps pub goers also couldn't stand the request. The "Yami Ichi pubs", which have suddenly become more competitive with many of its competitors closed, are packed with drunk people. The young part-time clerk is also lucky not to lose their job.

The drunkards take off their masks and chat loudly. You may be worried about coronavirus infection. Perhaps Yami Ichi pubs could be a place for cluster infections. However, it is necessary to recall once again that Yami Ichi (i.e., the black market) was the driving force behind Japan's recovery from the defeat.

Anyway, this izakaya I visited tonight was very prosperous. It is famous for Kyushu-style fried chicken, but it is a cheap restaurant that sells draft beer and highball for only 180 yen. It is a hero for drunkards, who does not raise prices when there are fewer competitors.

Opposition to the Olympics is a Proof of the Left Wing

It seems that my ancestor were hidden Christians ("Kakure Kirishitan") around Nagasaki. Moreover, I know that my Kyoto ancestors are the chief priests of temples that have become tourist destinations. The story of ancestors and religion deviates from the main subject of this article, but the story of the Edo Shogunate using "fumi-e" to identify hidden Christians is notorious.

It is Japan, my lovely home country, that the followers of a specific idea are identified by a similar technique even in modern times. For example, in a hot topic these days, "opposition to the Olympics" is a proof of the left. Again, I have to explain the complexities of Japan's left, but they are pro-China and pro-Korea. According to people on the right side of Japan, China and South Korea are said not to want Japan to succeed in the Olympics.

So it seems that the Japanese left wanted to cancel the Tokyo Olympics. Hence, "Olympic cancellation" is a proof of the left wing.

Another proof of the left wing seems to be the words and deeds that support the "homeless people" mentioned in the last two articles on this blog.

I think it's unlikely to be misleading on the English web, but I'll clarify my position. I am a non-political person who is neither a right wing nor a left wing. However, let me reveal that when I was young, during the Cold War, I sneaked into communist countries as an economic animal minion and corrupted local officials. I'm trying to novelize that story, but it's still incomplete.

Disappointing local government heads - Coronavirus and Olympics

On July 28, 2021, right in the middle of the Tokyo Olympics, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported as follows.

On the 29th, the government decided to issue a state of emergency to Osaka Prefecture, which is applying "priority measures such as prevention of spread" as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus, and to Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures. The period is until August 31st. Priority measures will be applied to Hokkaido, Hyogo, Kyoto, Ishikawa, and Fukuoka prefectures. The government told the ruling party executives.

　 Currently, the declaration has been issued to Tokyo and Okinawa prefectures until August 22, but the deadline will be extended to the 31 days.

Prime Minister Suga

On the evening of the 29th, Prime Minister Suga announced to reporters that he would decide on a government response on the 30th after consulting with his relevant ministers at his prime minister's office.

The prime minister said, "We are responding with a strong sense of crisis. We would like to respond firmly in each region while advancing vaccination so as not to cause an insufficient bed availability."

The total number of corona deaths in Japan over the last two years is 15,000. This is not much different from twice the number of influenza deaths each year.

The population of the United States is 2.6 times that of Japan. However, the total number of corona deaths is 610,000.

East Asians are more resistant to the coronavirus. Moreover, influenza is almost extinct. 0731-21

It's not something you can brag about to the world. But politicians should have taken more courage to keep their economy from declining.

Sweden has taken the courage to lift the restrictions on behavior, but the death toll has not risen sharply. In other developed countries, there is a movement to deregulate, although it may be a vaccine premise.

It is disappointing that the heads of local governments such as Osaka ask the central government to issue a declaration as if to escape responsibility. At first I saw the governor of Osaka as an independent person, but now he is a completely different person.

The Reality is that the Rate of Suicide is Higher than the Death from Illness in Corona

When I turned on the TV wide show for the first time in a while, it started with the story of the Olympic athlete's corona infection, and there was a lot of noise about the risk of corona. Isn't it the ultimate risk of death? Then, how do you deal with the problem of suicide risk?

The rate of suicide and disappearance from the world that has become difficult to live in Corona is higher than the rate of dying in Corona. My daughter, who is a nurse at a large hospital in Osaka, was surprised at the large number of suicide attempts immediately after she was temporarily transferred to the Corona Severe Ward.

From Jiji Press Suicide last year, increase for the first time in 11 years Corona effect, serious in women - Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare breaking news January 22, 2021 10:09

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced on the 22nd that the number of suicides (preliminary figures) in 2020 based on the statistics of the National Police Agency was 29,919, which is 750 (3.7%) higher than the previous year's confirmed figure.

Although the number of suicides has decreased for 10 consecutive years, the number of female suicides has increased for the first time in 2 years, and the total number of men and women has increased for the first time in 11 years since 2009 after the Lehman shock. The number of suicides per 100,000 population (suicide mortality rate) was 16.6, the first increase in 11 years.

　 The background to the increase in female suicide seems to be the economic deterioration caused by the spread of the new coronavirus infection. A person in charge of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "The number of cases of women due to health, living difficulties, family problems, etc. is increasing. We would like to expand the consultation desk and connect those who are worried to support organizations."

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of male suicides decreased by 135 from the previous year to 13,943, the 11th consecutive year of decrease, but the number of females increased by 885 to 6976.

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https://www.jiji.com/jc/article (Japanese version)