＜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
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・コロナ対策としての「人流抑制」は効果なし。緊急事態宣言の延長は「謎対策」
<Added 2021/7/31> Economic Losses from State of Emergency Exceed the Economic Benefits of the Olympics and Paralympics!
Nomura Research Institute has compiled an estimate stating that “economic losses from the state of emergency will far exceed the economic benefits of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
The estimate states that the economic losses resulting from the application of the state of emergency to four prefectures, including Kanagawa, will amount to 940 billion yen.
Furthermore, if the extension of the state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas is included, the economic losses from a “fourth state of emergency” will swell to 2.19 trillion yen.
This far exceeds the expected economic benefit of 1.6771 trillion yen from the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and the estimate concludes that the Olympic effect will “completely be canceled out.”
1. “Restricting Human Flow” is Ineffective as a COVID-19 Countermeasure
While it may be a term coined by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, I’ve recently been hearing the unfamiliar “new word” “human flow” (人流) frequently.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also uses it often, and it’s being featured on television news programs as an important “measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
It seems to mean “the movement of people,” but it feels somewhat inappropriate.
Putting that aside, is this “restricting human flow” truly effective as a COVID-19 countermeasure? I believe it’s “ineffective.”
Looking at the “movement data and number of new positive cases” in the image at the beginning, there is no correlation between human flow and the number of new positive cases, making it clear that it’s ineffective as a COVID-19 countermeasure.
2. The Continued Request for Department Stores to Close in Tokyo and Osaka is Questionable
Department stores are essential to daily life, and despite the fact that no clusters have occurred there in the past, it’s regrettable that Tokyo and Osaka have continued their “request for department stores to close.”
The government plans to request department stores to close on weekends and shorten their business hours to 8 PM on weekdays. While this seems better than the closure requests in Tokyo and Osaka, the basis for this is completely unclear, given the finding that there is no correlation between foot traffic and the number of new positive cases.
The continued requests for theme park closures and the holding of events without spectators in Osaka are also questionable in terms of effectiveness. The burden of compensation payments for closures is mounting, resulting in a waste of taxpayers’ money and is far from a normal situation.
3. The continued request for restaurants serving alcohol to close is also questionable.
I believe this measure pours cold water on the efforts of restaurants and other establishments that are implementing various infection prevention measures. If a cluster occurs, it should only be dealt with at that particular establishment.
Perhaps stemming from a “zero-risk belief,” I believe we should abandon the approach of “forcing all restaurants serving alcohol to close” to prevent infection.
4. There are still far too many “mysterious measures” and “excessive measures” in COVID-19 countermeasures.
I previously wrote an article titled “What are the effects of the mysterious and excessive measures against COVID-19? A review is needed rather than continuing aimlessly!” However, there are still far too many such measures.
5. Repeatedly issuing and extending the “state of emergency” is the epitome of a “mysterious measure.”
I previously wrote articles titled “The third state of emergency has more economic disadvantages than benefits for COVID-19 countermeasures!” and “Many of the ‘measures’ under the third state of emergency are inexplicable and meaningless!” This time, too, I feel that the decision to extend the “state of emergency” until the end of May was made aimlessly, without much verification of the previous effects or review of the measures.
This is a foolish policy that drives the public into a “tunnel with no end in sight.” Waves of infection (peaks and valleys) are unavoidable, and I believe that experts and politicians who are overconfident (blindly confident?) that the “state of emergency” can contain the spread are wrong.
After returning economic activity to a normal pace, I think it would be more effective to return to the basics of infection prevention without restrictions such as business closures, reduced operating hours, or self-isolation, by thoroughly encouraging each individual to “wear masks, wash hands, and gargle” and “avoid the three Cs (crowded spaces, close contact, and confined spaces) and ensure proper ventilation,” in addition to “strengthening border control measures” such as “returning to normal economic activity and changing the classification of COVID-19 from a Category 2 infectious disease equivalent to a Category 5 infectious disease” to improve the medical system and alleviate the strain on the medical system, or “strengthening border control measures” such as strictly restricting entry from overseas.