Japanese Events

[Cosmic Eagle]

An asymptomatic person not coughing or sneezing is less dangerous than someone who is. It's not them you should be concerned about.

But yeah, if it's not urgent and can wait then it's advisable to postpone it.

[SeijiSensei]

Will baseball be the next victim of the coronavirus?

https://apnews.com/ba83ee184cb758bc1901bd70dee8c6a4

The opening of the Japanese baseball season is in doubt because of the outbreak of the new virus, officials said Monday, as the nation’s baseball and soccer leagues tapped three medical experts as advisers.

Baseball commissioner Atsushi Saito said protecting fans, players and coaches was critical. Preseason games are being played in empty stadiums, with a hope the regular season can begin as scheduled on March 20.

But Saito acknowledged assessing whether the regular season can open — and with or without fans — is a delicate decision, noting the virus outbreak wasn’t expected to subside soon.

“That is the difficult part,” Saito said. “At this point, we still can’t say what action we will take under what conditions.”

I asked the author of this story, Yuri Kageyama, the AP's Japan reporter, on Twitter whether anything had been decided about spring Koshien. She cited this article that says they are meeting on March 4th.

I had an image of Adachi drawing his players and the fans in the stadiums all wearing masks.

[Guardian Enzo]

Anything and everything will be sacrificed to save the Olympics, even NPB and the J-League. Even Koushien (though summer Koushien is xxxxxxx more important and popular - the most popular domestic sporting event in Japan - so that will be the acid test). They're desperate and know they're playing a losing hand, so all they have is bluffing and the faint hope of getting bailed out on the river.

What I think will happen is that the J-League and NPB games will go on, but with no fans - just TV.

[SeijiSensei]

Spring Koshien Update

"Masahiro Maruyama, who oversees Japan’s high school baseball tournament, said Wednesday the games will likely be played without any spectators. But the situation will be again reviewed March 11, for an updated decision, including possibly canceling the tournament, he said."

https://twitter.com/yurikageyama/sta...25040897519619

[Guardian Enzo]

I think they should play. The kids want to play, with or without a crowd.

[SeijiSensei]

No Summer Koshien in 2020

The Japanese High School Baseball Federation says the cancellation was the first since World War II.

Asahi newspaper president Masataka Watanabe says “the decision is needed to protect the health of the players, officials and fans.”

https://apnews.com/f808f9a2d01c99a3dfdd32d58b096ce3

The spring Koshien tournament was cancelled earlier.

[SeijiSensei]

Women bear brunt of Japan's recession as pandemic unravels Abe's 'Womenomics'

Helped by a worker shortage, female labor participation hit a decade-high of more than 70 percent under Abe’s campaign, often dubbed “Womenomics.”

The catch: Many women lack the job security of male workers, with more than half holding vulnerable part-time, contract or temporary jobs.

The number of such “non-regular” workers posted its biggest drop on record in April, declining by 970,000 to 2.02 million. Women accounted for 710,000 of the decline.

That makes women workers “the shock absorber” of the world’s third-largest economy, said Mari Miura, a political science professor at Sophia University. Only about one in five male workers hold non-regular jobs.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...ic-womenomics/

[SeijiSensei]

Japan Acted Like the Virus Had Gone. Now It’s Spread Everywhere.

After initial success, Japan is facing a reality check on the coronavirus.

The country garnered global attention after containing the first wave of Covid-19 with what it referred to as the “Japan Model” -- limited testing and no lockdown, nor any legal means to force businesses to close. The country’s finance minister even suggested a higher “cultural standard” helped contain the disease.

But now the island nation is facing a formidable resurgence, with Covid-19 cases hitting records nationwide day after day. Infections first concentrated in the capital have spread to other urban areas, while regions without cases for months have become new hotspots. And the patient demographic -- originally younger people less likely to fall seriously ill -- is expanding to the elderly, a concern given that Japan is home to the world’s oldest population.

Experts are now more concerned over the upcoming traditional Obon holiday period in mid-August, when many young Japanese return home to pay respect to the dead and spend time with often-elderly relatives.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ead-everywhere

[Guardian Enzo]

I believe that's a misprint - it should read "less likely to fall seriously ill but in serious risk of reduced life expectancy due to heart and lung damage."

[GDB]

Not a surprise it's back. It never really left the big cities, and then they said it was over so a lot of people stopped wearing masks. And they traveled. So now it's everywhere even though it's not as prevalent as it was before.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

I believe that's a misprint - it should read "less likely to fall seriously ill but in serious risk of reduced life expectancy due to heart and lung damage."

Maybe Japan hasn't had enough cases to have seen many people like Eduardo Rodriguez yet.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ue-heart-issue

Given the age contour of the Japanese population, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most of the cases in that country were concentrated among seniors.

[AnimeFan188]

Japanese town deploys Monster Wolf robots to deter bears:

"A Japanese town has deployed robot wolves in an effort to scare away bears that
have become an increasingly dangerous nuisance in the countryside.

The town of Takikawa, on the northern island of Hokkaido, purchased and installed
two Monster Wolf robots after bears were found roaming neighbourhoods in
September. City officials said there had been no bear encounters since.

Bear sightings in Japan are at a five-year high and occur mostly in rural areas in
western and northern Japan, the national broadcaster NHK has reported. There have
been dozens of attacks so far in 2020, two of them fatal, prompting the government
to convene an emergency meeting last month to address the threat.

The Monster Wolf has four legs, a shaggy body, blond mane and red, glowing eyes.
When its motion detectors are activated, it moves its head, flashes lights and emits
sounds ranging from wolfish howling to machinery noises. The maker, Ohta Seiki, has
sold about 70 units since 2018."

See:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...to-deter-bears

[AnimeFan188]

Let it go! Japan PM declares war on ink stamp 'hanko'

"Japan's new prime minister is declaring war, but there's no danger of an international
conflict: the target of his ire is the humble ink stamp known as hanko.

It might seem paradoxical in a country often assumed to be a futuristic tech-savvy
paradise, but Japan's business world and bureaucracy remain heavily dependent on
paper documents, hand-stamped with approval.

The drawbacks to hanko, which are used for everything from delivery receipts to
marriage certificates have become increasing clear during coronavirus -- many
Japanese were unable to work from home because they had to physically stamp
documents in the office.

Now Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is on a push to digitise the nation, but he faces an
uphill struggle when it comes to the stamps, which range from mass-produced plastic
ones to hand-carved wooden versions used on special occasions."

See:

https://www.france24.com/en/live-new...nk-stamp-hanko

[Jaden]

It's not super practical. I was totally bewildered when I learned about hanko...

[Anh_Minh]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...tion-joe-biden
Japan's 'Jo Baiden' becomes overnight internet sensation

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Jaden

It's not super practical. I was totally bewildered when I learned about hanko...

I've read that hanko is also an obstacle to expanded working-from-home, as is Japan's continued reliance on paper, faxes, etc.

[Anh_Minh]

Any chance of them building remote controlled robots to stamp things instead of doing the sane thing?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...tion-joe-biden
Japan's 'Jo Baiden' becomes overnight internet sensation

This is such a quintessentially Japanese story, like a cat station master.

[SeijiSensei]

Government presses forward on postponed Olympics amid growing public skepticism

There are fears of letting 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes enter Japan, joined by tens of thousand of officials, coaches, VIPs and media; not to mention the possibility of allowing foreign fans to attend.

Tokyo organizers say they are officially spending $12.6 billion to stage the Games. However, a government audit last year said the amount was likely twice that large. All but $5.6 billion is public money.

Over and above this is the cost of the one-year delay, estimated in Japan at $2 billion to $3 billion. The IOC has said it will chip in about $650 million in Japan toward the postponement, but has offered few specifics.

https://apnews.com/article/pandemics...781ac7c9fe08f5

[SeijiSensei]

Hayabusa2 returns home after its visit to the asteroid Ryugu.

Early on Sunday morning, the skies above a secluded military complex in central Australia will be brightened by a fireball plummeting to Earth. It will be a flamboyant homecoming for the sample return capsule from Hayabusa2, a Japanese spacecraft launched almost exactly six years ago on a mission to shoot an ancient asteroid and steal some of its dirt. If the capsule survives its fiery descent, its payload of pristine space rock will help scientists understand the earliest days of our solar system, shed light on the mysterious origins of meteorites, and may even provide clues about the emergence of life on Earth.

https://www.wired.com/story/for-the-...urns-to-earth/