TOKYO/SEOUL/HONG KONG (NYTIMES) - Japan s biggest cities are under a state of emergency as coronavirus deaths rise, even while the country tries to convince the world it can safely hold the Summer Olympics.
South Korea is prohibiting gatherings of five or more people to keep a recent surge in cases under control.
Hong Kong imposed stringent lockdowns on some of its poorest neighbourhoods to stop an uptick.
And yet none of these places have begun to carry out the only solution with any hope of putting the pandemic behind them: vaccinations.
While the United States and most nations in Europe as well as Asian behemoths China and India have begun inoculating their populations, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong have stood out by proceeding much more slowly.
January 23, 2021 Share
Japan is publicly adamant that it will stage its postponed Olympics this summer. But to pull it off, many believe the vaccination of its 127 million citizens for the coronavirus is key.
It’s an immense undertaking in the best of circumstances and complicated now by an overly cautious decision-making process, bureaucratic roadblocks and a public that has long been deeply wary of vaccines.
Japan hopes to start COVID-19 vaccinations in late February, but uncertainty is growing that a nation ranked among the world’s lowest in vaccine confidence can pull off the massive, $14 billion project in time for the games in July, casting doubt on whether the Tokyo Olympics can happen.
Middle-East Arab News and Opinion - Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities
TOKYO (AP) Japan is publicly adamant that it will stage its postponed Olympics this summer. But to pull it off, many believe the vaccination of its 127 million citizens for the coronavirus is key.
It s an immense undertaking in the best of circumstances and complicated now by an overly cautious decision-making process, bureaucratic roadblocks and a public that has long been deeply wary of vaccines.
Japan hopes to start COVID-19 vaccinations in late February, but uncertainty is growing that a nation ranked among the world’s lowest in vaccine confidence can pull off the massive, $14 billion project in time for the games in July, casting doubt on whether the Tokyo Olympics can happen.
By SIMON DENYER AND AKIKO KASHIWAGI | The Washington Post | Published: December 19, 2020
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. TOKYO Japanese long-distance runner Hitomi Niiya doesn t want to take a coronavirus vaccine ahead of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She s worried about side effects and has faith in the precautions already underway. The 32-year-old elite athlete isn t alone. Japan s government has preordered 290 million doses of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines, more than enough to cover its population of 126 million, and says it aims to vaccinate everyone by the middle of next year - in time for the pandemic-delayed Olympics in July.