Is it really good to have a policy of “the spread of infection is unavoidable”?
(Hideyo Fudesaka: Former member of the House of Councilors, political critic)
Since the beginning of July, the new coronavirus has been replaced by the derivative “BA.5” of the Omicron strain, and the infection has spread explosively. It means that it has entered the 7th wave. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continues to say, “We will not restrict our actions” and “We will take sharp measures.”
It has been self-evident that behavioral restrictions are effective in controlling infection. That is why we have taken priority measures such as declaration of emergency and prevention of spread many times, and have strongly restrained people from acting. Given that the infection caused by the new coronavirus spreads through some human-to-human contact, it seems that there was nothing else to do, if not sure how effective these measures were. Lockdowns in China impose far stricter behavioral restrictions than in Japan.
“BA.5” is said to be more than 1.5 times more infectious than previous Omicron strains. It makes sense for the infection to spread explosively, as it does not impose behavioral restrictions when the strain is in epidemic.
In the Japanese economy, the prices of crude oil and food products have risen sharply due to the depreciation of the yen and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is having a major impact on people’s lives. In such a case, it is impossible to judge that the new coronavirus will impose strong behavioral restrictions. In other words, not restricting behavior is synonymous with “the spread of infection is unavoidable,” and that is the policy of the Kishida Cabinet. Such a judgment is possible as a political judgment.