＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
In response to the “third wave” of the spread of COVID-19, the Go To Travel campaign to Osaka and Sapporo has been temporarily suspended, and advance reservations will no longer be eligible for discounts. The suspension of Go To Eat is also being considered.
This appears to be a measure taken in response to strong concerns expressed by Chairman Omi of the government’s expert panel (COVID-19 countermeasures subcommittee) and Chairman Nakagawa of the Japan Medical Association.
The government and the governors of Osaka and Hokkaido have responded to the opinions of this expert panel and medical associations.
However, I have doubts about this recent trend.
1. Questions about the recent trend
(1) Is Go To Travel really the root cause of the spread of COVID-19?
I’m not a medical expert, so I’m just a complete layman, so I can’t say for sure, but is Go To Travel, which promotes human movement, really the root cause of the spread of COVID-19?
There is absolutely no evidence to support the causal relationship between Go To Travel and the spread of infection, nor any scientific evidence to support it.
I previously wrote an article about excessive self-restraint and mysterious countermeasures against COVID-19, but I think a level-headed decision is needed.
(2) Can suspending Go To Travel to areas with rapidly spreading infections prevent the spread of infection?
This is the same as the question above, but is there any evidence that suspending Go To Travel to areas with rapidly spreading infections can prevent the spread of infection?
(3) Isn’t it remiss not to suspend Go To Travel from areas with rapidly spreading infections?
This is related to the question above, but if the goal is to “restrict human movement,” wouldn’t it be remiss not to also suspend Go To Travel from areas with rapidly spreading infections?
(4) Can we actually verify the effectiveness of the temporary suspension of Go To Travel in preventing the spread of infection?
I think it will be difficult to verify whether the temporary suspension of Go To Travel has had an effect on preventing the spread of infection.
If the spread of infection continues, will the government consider the current measures insufficient and move on to a complete suspension of the Go To Campaign, including Go To Travel?
If infections are successfully contained, will the government and governors be proud of the success of the temporary suspension of Go To Travel?
I previously wrote an article on academic test scores and teacher salary evaluations, but it is difficult to verify the contribution of teachers to improved academic ability.
Even if student grades improve, I don’t think it can be generally attributed to teachers. Some children may have started studying on their own, while others may have improved their grades thanks to easy-to-understand instruction from cram schools or private tutors.
In the same way, even if the spread of COVID-19 infections decreases, I don’t think it can be generally attributed to the temporary suspension of Go To Travel. This may be due to each individual citizen taking precautions to prevent infection, or a decrease in coronavirus cases for some reason.
2. Responding to COVID-19 Requires Broad-Based Decisions
(1) Thorough Infection Prevention Measures for Each and Every Citizen Are Necessary
Measures such as “countermeasures against the three Cs,” “wearing masks,” “enforcing hand washing, regular ventilation, installing partitions, and disinfecting” remain necessary.
Prime Minister Suga’s proposal to have masks worn at dinner parties may be effective in preventing infection, but the hassle of having to remove them every time makes it impractical.
(2) Suspending the “Go To Travel” campaign and other such frequent policy changes are foolish.
However, I believe that constantly changing policies, such as suspending the “Go To Travel” campaign, is foolish. It would be a pain to remove them one by one, and I think it would be practically impossible.
(3) The government and governors should calmly assess the progress of the infection situation.
Frequent changes to systems and temporary suspensions not only discourage people from traveling and eating out, but also disappoint tourism and restaurant businesses.
Furthermore, in Osaka Prefecture, taxpayers’ spending on business closures and other measures in response to requests to shorten business hours is only increasing.
I believe the government and governors should calmly assess the progress of the infection situation.
While there are cries of strain on medical institutions and a risk of medical collapse, it seems we are falling into a “corona supremacy” and “corona-focused” approach. I think it’s time to consider the balance with treatment for other illnesses and “triage.”
