TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he will declare a state of emergency for Tokyo and six other prefectures as early as Tuesday to bolster measures to fight the coronavirus, but that there will be no hard lockdowns.
Next Abe will be humping chloroquine.
Shouldn’t Abe have hard lockdowns? Is he following the footstep of his BFF Codiviot Trump?
“requests” 
i was worried that there was a new outbreak in Japan sounds like this is more precautionary. It’s amazing that Japan has had so few cases given the crowding in Tokyo. They have been on the ball with testing and tracking but, i do wonder if there’s more going in their favor?
My step-daughter lives in Osaka and my wife has visited there a couple of times, so I’m somewhat familiar it.
There are a few cultural advantages in dealing with a pandemic, like being obsessive about cleanliness compared to many other culture. The "toilets"are like something out of a science fiction movie. They’re a bit less touchy-feely than Western countries when it comes to personal interactions. You’ll see packed crowds on a subway, but they still maintain as much personal space as they can; just an instinct from living so close together. There is also less of a cultural stigma about wearing masks than many Western countries.
Finally, if it does come to a hard lockdown, there won’t be many who violate it. It’s a culture with a high respect for authority.
I’m a bit surprised by this considering Japan is not know as a culture that is not overtly affectionate and touchy feely. I having been there a few times and the level of cleanliness and high standards of personal hygiene,how are these people becoming infected? Everytime I was there, people were walking the streets handing out face masks and packages of tissues to passersbyers. all day and into the evenings. Public bathrooms are stunningly clean and most that I went into had attendants cleaning constantly. I mean attendants were stationed in the bathroom. Trains are cleaned regular throughout the day and so are buses. Kyoto & Tokyo are congested but people keep their distance and I can’t remember seeing or hearing someone coughing or sneezing in public. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention. I’m really surprised at this.
I understand that bidets in Japanese households are very popular, over 80% of bathrooms have them, so yes to cleanliness and avoiding the senseless, no, moronic toilet paper hoarding people here have been engaging in.
“I understand that bidets in Japanese households are very popular,”
Not all the homes but many. They have them in the temples, hotels, restaurants but they still use a great deal of toilet paper in those places for Westerners who can’t quite get the hang of using them.