TOKYO: Japan decided this week to expand COVID-19 curbs to more than 70 percent of its population, but in contrast to stringent lockdowns in some countries, authorities are relying mainly on requests for self-restraint and peer pressure.
With nationwide new cases topping 15,000 a day for the first time this week, expectations are simmering that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga may declare a nationwide state of emergency, although he said on Thursday he was not considering this now.
Some ruling lawmakers have also suggested legal changes to allow stricter enforcement of curbs, but any move to a Western-style “lockdown” would be controversial and take time.
Below are some key points about Japan’s COVID-19 curbs.
Under a nationwide emergency in April-May 2020, Tokyo asked a wide range of facilities to close including gyms, cinemas, bars, and large stores selling non-essential goods. Schools were closed early in the pandemic but reopened.
While a March 2020 law allows the premier to declare a state of emergency if the disease poses a “grave danger” to lives, Japan has generally shunned stronger enforcement steps and the law did not mandate fines or other punishment.
The government has sought to juggle containing the virus with minimizing damage to the economy, while memories remain strong of civil rights abuses during World War Two.
Public compliance was initially high, but people are growing weary of curbs and critics say holding the Olympics during the pandemic sent a confused message about the need to stay home.
The March 2020 law gives governors authority to tell people to stay home, close public facilities and ask businesses to close and cancel events.
While it did not initially mandate fines or other punishment for failure to comply, a February 2021 revision allows fines of 300,000 yen ($2,700) on businesses that do not comply.
The revision also created a new category of lighter “quasi-emergency” curbs, with lower fines for non-compliance.
Recent curbs have focused on asking eateries to close early and refrain from serving alcohol, but not all bars and restaurants are complying.
The government has repeatedly imposed and then lifted its curbs as infections fluctuated. Then-prime minister Shinzo Abe ended the first nationwide emergency in late May 2020 after seven weeks, declaring the “Japan model” a success.
Later waves of infections prompted additional, more localized measures. Tokyo is under its fourth state of emergency and on Thursday Suga said additional prefectures would be subject to the “quasi-emergency” steps.
As infections surge, some ruling party lawmakers and the top government medical adviser have suggested the need to debate legal changes to allow a “hard lockdown,” although experts note the government is not making full use of its existing authority.
Suga has said Western-style lockdowns “don’t suit” Japan and has stressed getting the population fully vaccinated was key.
Suga, whose support rates are at record lows ahead of a general election this year, would need to convene an extra session of parliament, usually held from September, to revise the law now. But he may be wary of facing opposition criticism of his pandemic response in the legislature, and experts say the move would probably be too late anyway.
As COVID-19 cases surge, Japan sticks to “lockdown-lite“
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As COVID-19 cases surge, Japan sticks to “lockdown-lite“
- Under a nationwide emergency in April-May 2020, Tokyo asked a wide range of facilities to close
Modi ally proposes social media ban for India’s teens as global debate grows
- India is the world’s second-biggest smartphone market with 750 million devices and a billion Internet users
- South Asian nation is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set a minimum age for access
NEW DELHI: An ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a bill to ban social media for children, as the world’s biggest market for Meta and YouTube joins a global debate on the impact of social media on young people’s health and safety.
“Not only are our children becoming addicted to social media, but India is also one of the world’s largest producers of data for foreign platforms,” lawmaker L.S.K. Devarayalu said on Friday.
“Based on this data, these companies are creating advanced AI systems, effectively turning Indian users into unpaid data providers, while the strategic and economic benefits are reaped elsewhere,” he said.
Australia last month became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access in a move welcomed by many parents and child advocates but criticized by major technology companies and free-speech advocates. France’s National Assembly this week backed legislation to ban children under 15 from social media, while Britain, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue.
Facebook operator Meta, YouTube-parent Alphabet and X did not respond on Saturday to emails seeking comment on the Indian legislation. Meta has said it backs laws for parental oversight but that “governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites.”
India’s IT ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market with 750 million devices and a billion Internet users, is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set a minimum age for access.
Devarayalu’s 15-page Social Media (Age Restrictions and Online Safety) Bill, which is not public but was seen by Reuters, says no one under 16 “shall be permitted to create, maintain, or hold” a social media account and those found to have one should have them disabled.
“We are asking that the entire onus of ensuring users’ age be placed on the social media platforms,” Devarayalu said.
The government’s chief economic adviser attracted attention on Thursday by saying India should draft policies on age-based access limits to tackle “digital addiction.”
Devarayalu’s legislation is a private member’s bill — not proposed to parliament by a federal minister — but such bills often trigger debates in parliament and influence lawmaking.
He is from the Telugu Desam Party, which governs the southern state Andhra Pradesh and is vital to Modi’s coalition government.
