Michael Thomas Cucek

#JapanPolitics - the long incubation period, high level of contagiousness, lethality and variability in expressed symptoms makes the Covid-19 virus capable of overwhelming nearly every society's protective mechanisms. 1/

Here is full text in 日本語 from the Kantei. PM Suga sounds less-than-convincing. kantei.go.jp/jp/99_suga/sta…

#Japan_Politics - Have to see the 日本語 for this. In English the PM's promises soundly reality-challenged, like Abe's policy speech to the Extraordinary Diet Session in Sept 2007 mainichi.jp/english/articl…

@lgat77 @smaslow_japan Pax vobiscum, Lance

@MichaelTCucek @smaslow_japan MTC branches out into epidemiology. Happy New Year!

#Japan_Politics - Sadly, with today's #Covid_19 numbers in #Tokyo (+1337) and nationwide (+4500) we are at @smaslow_japan 's policy inflection point...

新年おめでとうございます｡ 2021年が、私たちの希望への出口をひらくことを願います。今日からの一日一日に「いのち」を感じて、分断の刃を暴走させず、「つながる力」を確かなものとしたいと思います。正解の見えないカオスの渦中で」、タテ関係に支配されず水平な土台に立つ社会変容をめざします。

@sfujihira Since NHK had just broadcast a four hour 紅白歌合戦 with an entire symphony orchestra or 45+ member girl groups on stage unmasked, the hopping tour of the nation's religious sites at midnight was only mildly irresponsible.

The Japanese gov & NHK seem to normalize and promote masses going out to shrines/temples, and eat & drink. They are certainly not discouraging this.

Always trust the real world : it will offer you all the irony you desperately need to survive.

@Kishakishi Can you point to articles/sources on this phenomenon? I would love to read more.

... and there are no building standards specifying, for example, thickness of walls, or average indoor temperatures without active heating, as there are in Europe. Hence why you can die without A/C in the winter in Japan (as happened after the 2011 tsunami).

Japanese houses were traditionally built around ventilation rather than insulation, because the hot humid summers could ruin a house — whereas a cold winter is only disheartening to the occupants. The building industry continued to prioritise ventilation above insulation...

#Japan_Politics - NHK just showed footage ofPM Suga durung the #紅白歌合戦 news break. Suga looked lost, with deer-in-the-headlights eyes. #Covid_19

Tokyo coronavirus case count for today, the last day of this wretched year, is 1,337. Serious cases +4 to 89. 172 of today’s cases are over the age of 65.

Research Assistant - Japan Chair Programme iiss.org/careers/jobs/2…

One of my hopes for 2021, since it still clearly hasn't set in, is that people just let black folks exist. In Starbucks. On sidewalks. In parks. In Central Park, while they're birdwatching. In their own apartments, while watching movies. In hotel lobbies. My God.

[Rétrospective 2020] 📹 Voyage visuel à travers Tokyo #AFP

Last sunset for 2020 and it’s a lovely one. Better than the year that was. Rack off 2020. 良いお年を 🌇🎍🇯🇵

一気に1300人を超えた。感染者の数だけで判断すべきものではないが「爆発的感染拡大」に入った可能性は否定できない。知事から発せられる医療の逼迫状況も考えると、国は地域を限定した緊急事態宣言の発出を真剣に検討すべきだ。 東京都、新たに感染者1300人超　初の1000人台 mainichi.jp/articles/20201…

Some contributory factors for this figure on the last day of the year might be hospitals finishing up their reporting before shutting down for the few days and as the rush of people getting tested Monday before going home/traveling for New Years, TMG lawmaker Kouhei Ojima says

初の1000人超えとなってしまいました。感染された方々が完治することを心からお祈りします。 どうか、年末年始のステイホームをお願いします。

#Japan - #Covid_19 Today's numbers in #Tokyo to blow past all previous records with >1300 new infections headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20201231-…

@Okumura_Jun @GearoidReidy @dwvcd But the Crown Prince was sent to the palace in Nikko.

@GearoidReidy @dwvcd I mean, the Showa Emperor didn't leave during the Tokyo carpet bombings.

#International_Politics - Ummmm...I...am...not...sure...that...this...is...uhhhhh...how to say it?