Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga.

Opposition criticizes Suga's tardiness

On Thursday, the opposition parties hurled criticism at the administration of the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, due to his so-called late response to the recent resurgence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases. According to them, the state of emergency is too late.

The second state of emergency, effective from Friday until 7 February, is refraining the Japanese citizens from going outside and ordering the businesses, especially restaurants and bars serving booze, to close by 8 p.m. The declaration came as Japan recorded new 2,447 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with over 7.000 cases daily since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

The head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Edano, stated that he had told Suga to declare the second state of emergency since last December. However, Edano accused the administration of not having a mutual sense of crisis. As it is late, Edano doubts whether the state of emergency would do any benefit now. Supporting Edano's statement, the co-head of the Japan Innovation Party, Toranosuke Katayama, agreed that the state of emergency, while it is appropriate, it was a month too late.

Moreover, the head of the Japanese Communist Party, Kazuo Ishii, emphasized the need for the Japanese Government to provide compensation for businesses complying with the state of emergency, or else they will face loss or be forced to open. The head of the Democratic Party for the People, Yuichiro Tamaki, wanted the Japanese Government to also take proper economic measures.

Source: https://bit.ly/3i52hb3