May 25, 2021
OSAKA – Just two months before the Tokyo Olympics are due to begin, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito face a massive political problem.
Ten prefectures including Tokyo remain under a state of emergency due to COVID-19, with it set to expire for nine of them on May 31 a deadline now likely to be extended well into June for some. On Monday, the U.S. advised its citizens not to travel to Japan because of the risk of infection. Polls show the majority of the public wants the games canceled, with medical experts warning that going ahead with the Olympics could lead to superspreader events in Japan and elsewhere during and afterward.
Opponents of the bill to revise the immigration control law gather in front of the Diet on May 18. (Yosuke Fukudome)
The ruling coalition decided on May 18 to abandon a bill to revise the immigration control law over fears that pursuing it would worsen the Suga Cabinet s plunging approval ratings and concerns about delays in Diet deliberations.
The opposition on two occasions rejected proposals from the ruling coalition to vote on the legislation in the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee, mainly due to questions about why a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman died while in detention at an immigration facility.
Considering the need for deliberation time in the Upper House, with the current Diet session scheduled to end on June 16, the ruling coalition’s only option was to force a vote on the proposal to revise the law in the Lower House committee.
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Correspondent
The Japanese government says its coronavirus vaccination drive is a crucial part of overall infection prevention measures. But since starting in April with inoculations for the elderly, the program has made slow progress.
According to data compiled by the University of Oxford, only 2.59 percent of the Japanese population had received at least one dose of the vaccine by May 9. That s in contrast to 62.64 percent in Israel and 52.25 percent in the UK.
People aged 65 and older became eligible to receive the vaccine on April 12, following inoculations for healthcare workers. This segment represents one third of Japan s population. In a press conference last Friday, Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said the government hopes to administer one million doses a day and complete inoculations for elderly people who want the vaccine by the end of July.