Category: Japan

So much for the boycott of Uniqlo that South Korean activists were advocating for:

Fast Retailing Co.’s lineup of functional and casual attire continued to lure value-conscious shoppers whose preferences are changing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to push the Uniqlo operator’s first-quarter earnings close to an all-time high.

Operating profit rose 23% to ¥113.1 billion ($1.1 billion) in the three months ended Nov. 30, according to a company statement Thursday. That beat analysts’ average estimate of ¥101.5 billion, and comes just below Fast Retailing’s record quarterly results of ¥113.9 billion two years earlier. Sales for the quarter, however, fell 0.6% to ¥619.8 billion.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears coronavirus infection levels are getting better in South Korea while in the Tokyo area it is getting worse:

The third wave of coronavirus infections in Japan’s capital city worsened Friday, as the number of new cases there exceeded 2,000 individuals for a second consecutive day.

The U.S. military in Japan as of 6 p.m. Friday reported 67 people newly infected with virus, the majority of them at Yokosuka Naval Base, where a cluster emerged in December. U.S. Forces Korea reported a contractor at Yongsan Garrison, Seoul, tested positive Thursday, according to a news release.

U.S. bases in the greater Tokyo metro area imposed curfews and new limits on travel and other activities after Japan declared a state of emergency Thursday in the city and three surrounding prefectures. (……….)

Yokosuka, the home 35 miles south of Tokyo of the 7th Fleet, reported 44 individuals had tested positive for the coronavirus since Tuesday, according to a Facebook post. The naval base has 111 people with the virus under observation.

Of the new cases, 14 fell ill with symptoms of COVID-19, the coronavirus respiratory disease; 16 were discovered during contact tracing; five tested positive during medical screening; and five are new arrivals to Japan, according to the base. A base employee tested positive during contact tracing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but other U.S. bases in the Tokyo area are also reporting increased coronavirus cases and implemented 8PM to 5AM curfews to help mitigate the infection risk.

So much for the Korean government wanting to supposedly improve relations with the Japanese:

South Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement won their first legal victory Friday against the Japanese government in a landmark ruling.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered Tokyo to make financial reparations of 100 million won (US$91,300) each to 12 “comfort women” who were dragged away from their homes and forced to work in front-line military brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

“Evidence, relevant materials and testimonies show that the victims suffered from extreme, unimaginable mental and physical pain due to the illegal acts by the accused. But no compensation has been made for their suffering” the court said in a verdict.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Japanese government says they are ignoring this ruling because all the comfort women issues were resolved by the agreement they signed with the ROK government in 2015. The Moon administration scrapped the agreement when they came to power.

Here is the latest boycott Japan initiative to come out of Korea:

Retailers around the world including Target and Superdrug face pressure to cut ties with DHC as the Japanese cosmetics company refuses to apologize for its CEO’s racially discriminatory remarks against Koreans.

Activists have launched a campaign to boycott DHC products after CEO Yoshiaki Yoshida’s use of the term “Chon” — a racial slur for Koreans — came to light earlier this month.

“By selling DHC products, they are supporting the business of an openly racist company,” Tommy Hasegawa, the leader of student-led anti-discrimination group Moving Beyond Hate, told The Korea Herald.

Moving Beyond Hate is among the activists urging corporations to cut ties with the cosmetics brand. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Unless you already live in Japan don’t expect to be visiting the country at least in the near term:

The government of Japan will ban nonresident foreigners from entering the country starting Monday through January, to reduce the risk of a new, potentially more transmissible form of the coronavirus from expanding its presence, according to media reports.

Reuters news service reported Saturday that Japanese citizens and foreign residents starting Monday may enter the country, but must show proof of a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of departing for Japan and must quarantine for two weeks after arrival. Reuters cited a government statement issued Saturday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

According to the article President Moon is only doing this to try and promote his North Korea engagement policies during the Summer Olympics like he did during the last Winter Olympics:

President Moon Jae-in’s rush to resolute serious issues with Japan before the Tokyo Olympic Games is not going as well as Cheong Wa Dae had hoped. 

Moon named former four-term ruling party lawmaker Kang Chang-il as the next ambassador to Japan last month. It was the first time he had named a politician to the post, after first appointing Lee Su-hoon, an international relations professor, and then Nam Kwan-pyo, a career diplomat and one of the foremost experts on Japan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Nam has served as the Korean ambassador to Japan since May 2019. It is considered rare for the envoy to Japan to be replaced less than two years after being appointed. Cheong Wa Dae said that sending a politician to the post has a particular meaning amid the deadlock in bilateral relations. 
“With the launch of the new Cabinet in Japan, it reflects the President’s determination to find a resolution to the problems in bilateral relations,” a senior presidential aide said. “Kang served as head of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians’ Union and has built an extensive network in Japan. Based on this, we determined it would be more suitable to send a politician rather than a career diplomat.”  (……..)

“One major factor in the Moon administration’s renewed push to improve relations with Japan is the possibility that doing so will allow the Tokyo Olympics to serve as a potential showplace for a breakthrough with North Korea,” Mason Richey, associate professor of international politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, told The Korea Times. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I don’t see the Japanese wanting to do the Moon administration any favors considering all the anti-Japanese policies and rhetoric they have pushed the past few years.

Nike is causing controversy again, this time not in the U.S., but in Japan:

A video ad from Nike Japan against bullying and racism that features biracial athletes and other minorities, such as those of Korean descent, has prompted a sharp online response including calls to boycott the company.

Japan has traditionally prided itself on being racially homogeneous, although successful mixed-race athletes such as tennis star Naomi Osaka are challenging that image.

The commercial, “Keep Moving: Yourself, the Future,” released Monday, shows several teen girls bullied in school over their race or other differences, but who ultimately find confidence through soccer prowess.

One scene features a girl whose father is Black surrounded by fellow students, squealing and pulling her hair.

The video, viewed 14.1 million times on Nike Japan’s Twitter feed by noon Wednesday, had racked up 63,000 likes but also a cascade of critical comments from many who vowed never to buy Nike products again.

“Nowadays, you often see one or two people of different nationalities going to school perfectly peacefully. The one that’s prejudiced is Nike,” wrote one user named “hira1216.”

Another asked, “Is it so much fun to blame Japan?”

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.

This study is giving hope that a vaccine may give similar results:

A Japanese research team has detected antibodies that neutralized the virus that causes COVID-19 in 98% of people who had been sick with the disease in tests performed six months after they became infected.

The team, led by Yokohama City University professor Takeharu Yamanaka, said Wednesday it plans to conduct a follow-up survey to see whether the people will still have such antibodies a year after their infections.

In the latest survey, which was the largest of its type conducted in the country, the team checked blood samples from 376 people who had already recovered from COVID-19. The samples were collected six months after they were infected.

“In general, people with neutralizing antibodies are believed to carry a low risk of reinfection,” Yamanaka told a news conference.

“This gives some hope” in relation to the vaccines set to be released, with the study showing that immunity obtained through natural infection can last at least six months, according to Yamanaka.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.

Much like in neighboring South Korea, coronavirus infections in Japan continue to rise new record levels with people in their 20’s and 30’s leading the surge:

Tokyo confirmed a single-day record 584 new cases of the coronavirus Saturday, a significant rise from Friday’s 449 new infections.

Osaka Prefecture, meanwhile, registered 399 new infections, it’s fifth straight day reporting at least 300, while Aichi Prefecture recorded 219.

Other large case loads were reported in the prefectures of Kanagawa, with 192, Hokkaido, 183, Saitama, 168, Hyogo, 151, and Chiba, 74.

The number of severe COVID-19 infections in the capital rose by two from the previous day to 55. The daily figure was based on 7,624 tests, the metropolitan government said in a statement.

Among the new cases, those in their 20s had the highest number at 137, followed by those in their 30s at 110 and people in their 40s at 95. Infections among those 65 or older totaled 88.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link.

This news is an indication of how much the coronavirus has spread throughout the U.S.:

The U.S. Marine Corps announced 72 new cases of the coronavirus Monday on Okinawa, more than the service has reported there in over a month.

All those cases, divided between two bases, were discovered among personnel recently arrived from the United States and still in the 14-day isolation period, Marine Corps Installations Pacific said in a Facebook post.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but with such high numbers I wonder if the Japanese government will eventually ask USFJ to suspend the arrival of new personnel?