Category: Japan

The Japanese government is stepping up and providing defense aid to Ukraine:

 Japan dispatched an Air Self-Defense Force KC-767 transport aircraft to Poland on Tuesday night, to provide bulletproof vests and other SDF equipment to Ukraine.

To support the embattled country, which has been fighting invading Russian forces, the provision of defense equipment was officially approved at National Security Council ministerial meetings earlier in the day.

The equipment included bulletproof vests, helmets and cold-weather clothing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is an update on the COVID situation in Japan which continues to show signs of improvement each week:

The number of new COVID-19 infections in Japan’s capital city on Monday was 4,000 less than a week prior, according to public broadcaster NHK and city data.

Tokyo confirmed another 5,374 people were infected with the coronavirus respiratory disease, 4,258 fewer than Feb. 28. 

Also Monday, the Japanese government lifted emergency measures in 13 prefectures across the country, from Niigata in central Honshu, the largest of Japan’s four main islands, to Kagoshima at the tip of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four, according to a Japan Times report. 

The government also extended to March 21 the emergency in Tokyo and 17 other prefectures, including its neighbors Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama, thanks to a slow decline in case numbers, according to the Asahi Shimbun on Thursday. The emergency was scheduled to end Sunday.

It means that, among other measures, bars and restaurants are still encouraged to close early and to curtail their alcohol sales.

Japan reported 63,591 new cases Saturday and 184 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. In March, so far, Japan has averaged nearly 67,100 new COVID-19 cases per day.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Daily COVID cases in South Korea continue to rise, but over in Japan they have now fallen to less than 70,000 from their peak of over 100,000:

The coronavirus continued to infect tens of thousands of people across Japan on Wednesday, even though new case numbers overall are falling week after week. 

Tokyo confirmed another 14,567 people had contracted COVID-19 on Wednesday, public broadcaster NHK reported. That’s about 3,100 more people than Tuesday and the highest one-day count since 16,129 on Friday.

However, Wednesday’s tally is 2,764 less than the count on Feb. 16, according to metropolitan government data online.

Japan on Tuesday reported a pandemic one-day record number of COVID-19-related deaths, 322, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Another 69,447 people across the country tested positive.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Much like USFK, U.S. Forces Japan is seeing a continued drop in cases despite the relatively high case counts in the surrounding population:

 Another 17,113 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Japan’s capital city, public broadcaster NHK reported Tuesday, a number slightly below the running seven-day average but still comparatively high in the history of Japan’s coronavirus pandemic. 

Tokyo and other prefectures, including neighboring Kanagawa, home of the U.S. 7th Fleet, asked the central government to extend a quasi-emergency scheduled to end Sunday, according to Kyodo News on Tuesday.

Thirty-four of Japan’s 47 prefectures are under public health restrictions. Quasi-emergency measures encourage bars and restaurants to close early and refrain from alcohol sales, and residents to avoid unnecessary travel. 

In Tokyo, the number of severely ill COVID-19 patients surpassed 50 for the first time since October, NHK reported. Still, less than 10% of hospital beds reserved for those patients are filled. But 55% of those set aside for routine coronavirus patients were filled on Monday, according to metro government data.

Japan’s new case numbers fell from 103,038 on Thursday to 92,865 on Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization.

U.S. Forces Japan on Tuesday reported 103 new cases at 15 installations,34 fewer than the previous day, according to its daily update. Yokosuka Naval Base again held the top spot with 61 new cases. Tied for No. 2 were Yokota Air Base and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni with nine each.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

If the Okinawa governor had his way he would have the U.S. military lockdown on base forever:

Also Monday, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Twitter said he wrote the commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, Lt. Gen. James Bierman Jr., asking that U.S. troops on Okinawa remain on their installations, despite the end of a three-week COVID-19 confinement order that lapsed that day. U.S. service members, civilian employees and family members were restricted to their homes and military installations across Japan to help stem the virus’ spread.

Tamaki sent the same message to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking that the U.S. military “extend the period of off-base activity restrictions on all military members stationed in US bases in Okinawa until the surge is over.”

A III MEF spokesman said the Marines were guided by their higher headquarters, consistent with the prefecture’s own messaging.

“We remain in line with [Okinawa prefectural government’s] request of its own citizens, per higher headquarters’ guidance,” Capt. Gabe Adibe told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday. 

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but if the governor is not locking down his own citizens than why should the U.S. military lock down their personnel especially after voluntarily doing so for three weeks.

Japan’s daily COVID case rate continues to surge:

The sixth wave of COVID-19 pushed past its own record in Japan’s capital city on Saturday with 11,227 new cases reported by the metropolitan government.

The new record in Tokyo is nearly double the previous pandemic high of 5,908 in August, according to metropolitan government data online. On Monday, the city reported a modest decline to 8,503 new infections, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Japan reported more than 100,000 new cases on Saturday and Sunday, both record-setting days, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like servicemembers in Japan will be stuck on their bases for a little while longer:

The U.S. military authority in Japan has extended a stay-at-home order until Jan. 31 for its service members, civilian employees and their families as COVID-19 continues to spready quickly throughout the nation.

“This decision was made out of an abundance of caution to protect all personnel from rapid spread of COVID-19 in local communities,” U.S. Forces Japan announced on its website Friday. The original two-week order was scheduled to expire Monday.

Omicron, while creating milder symptoms and fewer hospitalizations than previous variants, continues to infect record numbers of people in Japan. But case counts within the U.S. military are flattening and, at many U.S. bases, numbers are falling, according to USFJ.

“The stringent COVID-19 mitigations implemented in December have effectively stalled the spread of the virus on U.S. installations,” said Friday’s statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Well so much for all the false claims that Ivermectin was causing Japan to have such a low COVID rate:

The sixth wave of COVID-19 in Japan gained strength over the weekend, rising to a daily total of 26,801 new cases on Monday and exceeding the previous peak reached six months ago, according to the World Health Organization.

A government panel could recommend a modified state of emergency, or quasi-emergency, in 11 prefectures, including Tokyo, on Wednesday due to the spike in cases nationwide, Japanese media reported Tuesday. 

Three other prefectures, including Okinawa, are already under a quasi-emergency. The new emergency may last three weeks, according to reports. The government would ask bars and restaurants to close early and refrain from selling alcohol, among other measures.

The U.S. military in Japan as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday had not reported its total COVID-19 infections from the holiday weekend around Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It last confirmed 715 new infections across 17 military installations on Friday. 

Yokota Air Base, the headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo, reported 138 new cases between Jan. 12 and Tuesday, for a 273 active cases, according to the base website. Most new infections, 130, were acquired locally and eight tested positive after recently arriving in Japan.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but Japan now has a higher daily case rate than at any during the Delta Wave that hit the this past summer.

Here is the latest on the COVID situation in Japan:

The U.S. and Japan on Sunday agreed to keep American troops within their bases as worries grew about a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country. 

The restrictions starting Monday will last 14 days, confining U.S. military personnel to base facilities except for “essential activities,” a statement from the U.S. Forces in Japan said. The Japanese Foreign Ministry released the same statement. 

The allies will share information and cooperate on coronavirus measures, “given the extraordinary virulence of the omicron variant spreading throughout Japan,” the statement said. 

U.S. military members will wear masks, both on and off base, when outside their homes, and will continue to carry out strict testing before leaving for and after arrival in Japan, it said. 

New COVID-19 cases have surged in Japan, jumping above 8,000 on Saturday, a four-month record. The spike has been most pronounced in areas near U.S. bases. Last week, Japan asked the U.S. for cooperation in keeping its military personnel on base.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It seems to me a fairway to handle this is that any information about the site include the fact that Korean forced laborers were used her during the Imperial era. However, this makes too much sense and likely won’t happen:

A government panel proposed Tuesday that a gold mine site on the island of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, be a candidate for the 2023 UNESCO World Heritage designation.

But in a rare move, the Cultural Affairs Agency released a statement saying that the candidate selection by the Council for Cultural Affairs does not mean that the government has decided to recommend the site to UNESCO.

The agency said that the government will consider the matter comprehensively.

Under ordinary circumstances, the Japanese government would submit a recommendation to UNESCO by Feb. 1 next year after obtaining approval from related ministries and agencies and the Cabinet.

As South Korea claims that workers from the Korean Peninsula were forced to work at the Sado mines, however, it is unclear whether the Japanese government will recommend the site for World Heritage listing.

Yomiuri Shimbun

You can read more at the link.