January 21, 2022

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira, appearing on the BS-TBS "Hodo 1930" program broadcast on January 19, talked about countermeasures against the current nationwide surge in new cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

Japan on this day logged a record 41,485 new cases, and many prefectures will be under a COVID quasi-state of emergency from January 21.

The program quoted Sakurada Kengo, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), as saying that the severity with the omicron variant is less than that of the common flu. Reportedly, the Doyukai head is showing his discontent with the quasi-state of emergency the government decided to apply to many prefectures.

Koike on the program said, "It is totally unacceptable to underestimate the severity. The hospitalization risk with the omicron variant is said to be one-third that with delta. However, the omicron virus can still cause serious illnesses. Don't ever send the message, 'It's milder, so relax'."

The program MC reported that only 1.3% of the eligible population in Japan had a third COVID-19 vaccination shot, which is the lowest among OECD nations, and that total PCR tests per million in Japan are below the 150th-ranked in the world.

Koike suggested the following countermeasures the Japanese government should take: accelerate the rollout of third vaccinations; add childcare workers and school teachers to those eligible (the elderly, medical professionals, users of facilities for nursing-care and the disabled, care workers, and inpatients) for booster shots; set up a nationwide system of PCR tests available to anyone as many times as they want free of charge; and provide physical and financial support to public healthcare centers.

Pointing out that small-business owners and freelancers at the current moment will have almost no government support under the quasi-state of emergency measures, Koike demanded that support grants be immediately dispersed to them.