With Japan marking the unwelcome milestone of 10,000 coronavirus deaths on Monday, there are growing indications that the public is becoming impatient at the government's slow rollout of the vaccine.
100 days to go until the Olympics in Tokyo
In a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto attempted to play down Nikai’s comments, claiming that they merely indicated he is concerned about the event. The fact that he is concerned is a point that we need to take seriously and make sure that we can deliver a safe and secure games, she said. His comments remind us how important it is for us to feel confident and fully prepared to deliver the games so consumers can feel reassured that the games are safe.
COVID infections rising
Could Japan still cancel Tokyo Olympics over coronavirus? | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW dw.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dw.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Seoul has introduced an enhanced social distancing campaign as cases surge
Asian countries that were praised for their adept suppression of Covid-19 are now facing growing criticism for falling behind in the race to roll out vaccines.
Countries like South Korea were the poster children of the first wave of coronavirus for skilfully avoiding draconian national lockdowns.
But with cases now on the rise again and the highly transmissible UK variant spreading around the world, authorities are facing urgent questions about their lagging vaccination programmes.
There is anger in South Korea in particular and a sense of resignation in Japan as it emerged that vaccines won t be rolled out until late February at the very earliest - months behind the UK and the West.
‘Fear and finances’: births in Japan predicted to fall below this year’s record low over coronavirus concerns Julian Ryall in Tokyo In 2017, researchers at Tohoku University calculated that if population decline continued at the current rate, the Japanese people would go extinct in August 3766. Photo: Getty Images
With the country s birth rate already in alarming decline, the number of children born in Japan next year is now predicted to fall to a new low of below 800,000 as a result of worries over the Covid-19 pandemic.
The figures are based on pregnancies reported by local health authorities across the nation, and come on top of the health ministry s announcement that it expected a record low of around 848,000 births this year - approximately 17,000 fewer than in 2019, and the lowest since such figures were first compiled in 1899.