Governor of Okinawa pleads to tourists to keep away because of coronavirus
Chika Mori and Kanako Itamae
Modern TokyoTimes
The Golden Week holiday period in Japan covers late April to the first week of May. However, because of the state of emergency and the coronavirus crisis, the Governor of Okinawa is appealing to people to cancel their trips.
In truth, the coronavirus crisis in Japan is rather bizarre. After all, the death toll is only 372 after more than three months. Despite this, the usual media is in overdrive about the possibility of huge numbers of people dying. This equally equates to mainstream media. Yet, no indications hint to this and new infections seem to be coming down in Tokyo.
The recent spike in the first three weeks of April means that the Golden Week period is important to guard against. If not, another spike may develop again. This, in turn, will trigger more deaths, infections, and hinder the economy. Therefore, with Okinawa being a natural tourist destination, Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa is intent on protecting local people.
Tamaki uttered, “I am sorry to tell you this but Okinawa is under a state of emergency.”
He continued, “Please cancel your trip to Okinawa now.”
Reports state that roughly 60,000 citizens have planned to visit Okinawa during the Golden Week period. Hence, politicians in Okinawa fear the spread of coronavirus and the impact of this on the local health care system.
However, it does highlight the bizarre nature of the state of emergency in Japan. After all, if cities including Tokyo had recent spikes in the first three weeks of April, the internal tourist angle should have been shut down by the government.
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