Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

Yesterday, in a dramatic press conference, Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, noted that the city is on the cusp of a major spike in the number of new cases of coronavirus infections. As a measure to prevent further spreading of the virus, Koike called on the city's residents to voluntarily refrain from unnecessary outing over the weekend. As an additional measure, she announced the closure of the city's major parks to prevent people from gathering to view cherry blossoms that are blooming at the moment. The country's major news outlets duly reported Koike's press conference as headline news.

In the past few days, international media have been lamenting the emergence of individuals who openly flaunt the increasing levels of lockdowns and quarantines levied against them by authorities around the world to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Stories abound of people sneaking out to dinners, jogs, meetings, concerts, and spring break parties. The general public, understandably, has jumped to criticize these individuals for being irresponsible and putting everyone around them in danger of catching and then dying from the COVID-19.

In the past few days, the charts for new infections and deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic has made for some grim reading. Even as the number of new cases tapers off in mainland China, the number of new cases and deaths has jumped manyfold in Italy and across western Europe. The list of countries with infections is continuing to grow, with cases now being uncovered in countries that have less institutional and medical capacity to stem future spikes in new infections. As the World Health Organization declares a pandemic, countries are quickly shutting down borders to save themselves.

As the coronavirus continues to strike fear into the heart of the general public across the world, the most urgent task is to find enough medical supplies to handle surging demands for those seeking them just to soothe their concerns. Masks, hand sanitizers, and soap are flying off the shelves, leading to massive shortages and waiting lists for manufacturers not set up to increase production to unprecedented volumes even as they face their own difficulties from lack of raw materials, logistical bottlenecks, and staff members who are too afraid or simply cannot make it to the assembly lines.

For the Japanese and foreigners alike, Japan is known as a land of hot springs... Perhaps too many hot springs. In a land where people have too few holidays and young workers faces decreasing starting salaries and increasing uncertainties in their job security, coaxing more people to far away from major cities even for a weekend trip is proving more and more difficult. And for those who are looking for an ideal dip in naturally warm waters, there are just too many hotels and hot spring towns fighting for attention using ever more ingenious ways.

As the coronavirus rages on both in China and across much of the world that the Chinese have frequent contact with, there has been an increasing emphasis on how the general public can avoid catching the virus just from going about their daily lives. While the talks of the need to arm oneself with proper tools and behaviors for isolation from potential carriers has led to shortages in everything from surgical masks to rice and toilet paper, even the hardiest isolationists must concede that in a global economy that depends on international movements of goods and people, people locking themselves indoors for weeks on end simply is not feasible.

It is funny how situations can change so quickly when it comes to a spreading virus. Just a week after this blog praised Japan for its relative calm despite having the largest number of cases outside China , the country is making a gradual but visible descent into increased concern and vigilance about the virus at the grassroots level. As several pieces of news about growing infections in Japan, the general public is becoming visibly irritable.