The PM of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, got a round of applause after his address at LDP's annual convention on Sunday. (Image via Japan Today)

Suga pledges to do his best to prevent COVID-19 rebound

On Sunday, the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, reiterated his pledge to give his utmost best in preventing the resurgence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ahead of the postponed Summer Olympics and his visit to the United States (U.S). The statement came during his address at the annual convention of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), hours before the lifting of the state of emergency in Tokyo.

Previously on Thursday, Suga announced the end of the state of emergency in Tokyo and its three vicinities, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama, on Sunday midnight. The move was seen as the Japanese Government's effort to minimize the impact on business and industry by the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the concern of the potential upsurge.

Moreover, the state of emergency lifting came days before the start of the Summer Olympic torch relay from Fukushima, the site of the 2011 nuclear crisis. The torch relay would symbolize reconstruction.

Not wanting to put his guards down, Suga stated that the lifting of the state of emergency in Tokyo is important to prevent the COVID-19. The renewal of his pledge to battle COVID-19 and materialize a safe and sound Summer Olympics will serve as an act of triumph over COVID-19. Previously, the Summer Olympics was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the pandemic. Yet, Saturday's decision will bar the foreign spectators.

In early April, Suga, having received COVID-19 jab last week, is scheduled to visit Washington and meet with the 46th POTUS, Joe Biden. Therefore, he wants the COVID-19 infection in Japan to remain low. After all, Suga will be the first foreign leader to meet Biden in person, a symbol of utmost importance of the U.S-Japan alliance. Suga is looking forward to discussing a certain range of issues, from COVID-19 to China's growing assertiveness.

While pledging to do his best in protecting the Japanese people from COVID-19, Suga also asked for the cooperation of the Japanese people to do their best as well in curbing the infection.

Previously, the state of emergency had been put in place in Tokyo and its vicinities since 7 January, causing businesses to limit their hours to 8 p.m, employees to telework, and people to refrain from going outside. Moreover, the Japanese Government is stepping up COVID-19 testing, monitoring, and rolling out subsidies for businesses complying with the business hours cut at 9 p.m.

While Japan did not announce a full lockdown, the world's third-largest economy managed to keep the COVID-19 lower than the U.S and other European countries. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Japan has maintained less than a million COVID-19 cases and less than 9,000 COVID-19-related mortality. However, the Japanese epidemiologists worried that the Japanese people are growing tired of the COVID-19 preventive measures.

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