With Japan’s New State of Emergency, Restaurants Cry Foul

With Japan’s New State of Emergency, Restaurants Cry Foul

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Picture: EKAKI / PIXTA(ピクスタ)
Restaurants and bars are the Japanese government's latest scapegoat as it declares a new state of emergency with little economic assistance.

With cases of COVID-19 spiking rapidly in Japan, the Japanese government has bowed to growing pressure and declared a second state of emergency. But many are criticizing the haphazard set of restrictions as a sort of “State of Emergency Light”. And restaurants and other businesses affected by the arbitrary rules are wondering how they’ll survive the month.

What Led to the New State of Emergency

The new state of emergency, announced this week by Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s government, will last for a full month. It comes as Japan, which was once thought to be “managed” COVID-19, has seen a dramatic spike in infections. Tokyo, the infection capital of Japan, saw an unprecedented spike yesterday as cases jumped from just over 1,500 to over 2,500. The sudden increase is largely attributed to the New Year’s holiday – particularly to the tradition of hatsu-moude (初詣), or the year’s first shrine visit.

But Suga is likely thinking about much more than public safety. The new PM entered office a few months ago as the “Reiwa Grandpa” in reference to his role in unveiling Japan’s new era name. This, combined with the fact that Suga doesn’t belong to any of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s major intra-party factions, helped him enter office with a whopping 62% approval in NHK’s polling.

But that approval began unraveling quickly as COVID-19 infections trended upwards. Suga also took a personal hit when it had been discovered that he’d attended a steak dinner with eight LDP members after calling on citizens to refrain from “unnecessary outings”. As of today, a full 56% of Japanese residents say they don’t approve at all (16%) or in part (40%) of the government’s COVID-19 strategy.

Suga is also staring down an immutable deadline: the Tokyo Olympics. Despite vociferous opposition from citizens as well as from a small group of activists, both Suga and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko insist that the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics will happen in July 2021. Obviously, that insistence will become untenable if the pandemic is still raging as hard as it is now.

The Knock-On Effects of Scapegoating Nightlife

So what does the new State of Emergency entail? As usual, the devil is in the details.

Some of the restrictions seem like breaths of fresh air. For example, the government is asking for large companies to shift 70% of their positions to remote work. That could help accelerate the sudden shift to remote work in a country where office presence has always been viewed as indispensable. The government has also announced that it’s further postponing its much-maligned Go To Travel program, a domestic tourist discount that many blame for accelerating the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

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But another policy has left many scratching their heads. During the State of Emergency, the government is asking all eating and drinking establishments to cease operation as of 8pm. The government says it will pay every store 60,000 yen (around USD $580) as a “cooperation fee” to offset the costs of closing early. It also said that it’s considering punishments for noncompliance, including fines and public shaming of stores that refuse to close.

Additionally, the government said it will not close schools during the state of emergency. Suga defended this policy by saying that, while the majority of COVID-19 cases are of unknown origin, 60% of those infected in the unknown origin category work in restaurants and bars.

The move is reminiscent of the government’s treatment of karaoke shops, cabaret clubs, and other nightlife establishments during the initial COVID-19 outbreak. During the initial outbreak, such nightlife establishments were scapegoated for rising infections. As a result, many night workers found themselves in desperate financial straits as the meager financial help the government offered citizens wasn’t enough for most people to get by.

Restaurant and bar owners are expressing outrage at being singled out and “bullied” by the government. Others are noting how nightlife establishments are being singled out. Twitter user GOTO noted:

Really odd publicizing only the names of restaurants [that stay open after 8pm]. Should also publish the names of companies that don’t enforce 70% remote work.

And columnist Matsuo Takashi remarked: “Restaurants & bars, restaurants & bars…now they’re targeting restaurants and bars, but the first time they blamed live clubs, sports clubs, and pachinko parlors. Those in power always need an enemy they can subject to beatings.”

(Indeed, regular readers may remember our essay from Japanese activist Wakako Fukuda – who worked at a music club at the start of the outbreak – on how the government didn’t do enough during the first state of emergency to ensure citizens could afford to stay home.)

Matsuo goes on to note that the government’s decision won’t merely impact restaurants but a whole downstream chain of businesses – fresh produce stores, fisheries, and even makers of o-shibori (moist wipes used before eating).

When you consider the economic impact to restaurant employees as well as downstream businesses, the paltry $577/day the government is offering as a “cooperation fee” is clearly inadequate. Sadly this is a story that has played out in other countries, such as the United States. The government insists that citizens stay home – but then does little or nothing to make that decision economically viable.

These halfway economic measures could potentially prolong Japan’s latest wave – and spell financial disaster for those who depend on these businesses for their livelihoods.

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Jay Allen

Jay is a resident of Tokyo where he works as a reporter for Unseen Japan and as a technial writer. A lifelong geek, wordsmith, and language fanatic, he has level N1 certification in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and is fervently working on his Kanji Kentei Level 2 certification.

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