"Human disaster" remark why the mayor is 12:32 on July 30th

"If the spread of infection does not stop, it will be a man-made disaster by the government."
This mayor of Aomori Prefecture, which was the subject of "Go To Travel," was an opportunity to remove Tokyo. As the background was deepened, the background was the appearance of local governments suffering from the efforts to prevent infection and to recover the economy.
(Yumie Sano)

Remark suddenly

The statement popped out on July 13. It was a meeting of the New Coronavirus Countermeasures Headquarters in Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Soichiro Miyashita (41) said about the government's tourism demand stimulus plan, "Go To Travel," which will start on the 22nd.

"If Go To Travel begins, the virus will be released nationwide. If that does not stop the spread, it can be evaluated as a human disaster by the government.

" I was surprised. I think I would wrap myself up in an ordinary meeting, but I felt it was more dangerous than when I declared an emergency."

Source is Mutsu City

The city's mayor openly disagreed with the government's campaign. Mutsu is a city with a population of more than 56,000, located in the center of Shimokita Peninsula, the northernmost part of Honshu. It is a local city whose core industries are fishing and forestry.

Osorezan, one of the three major sacred sites in Japan, Yagen hot spring village where you can enjoy hot springs along the mountain stream, and “Nozoku Koen”, where you can see the northernmost monkey in the world's northernmost wild monkey, More than 800,000 tourists visit (* 2018 Aomori Prefecture Tourist Visitor Statistics). It was just before beginning to focus on attracting foreign tourists.

The number of people who stayed at major facilities in the city in May fell sharply to about 35% of the same period last year. The effects of the new Corona have mercilessly extended to local cities.

So why did Miyashita disagree?

"Patience" of zero infected people is blisters

Miyashita explained at a press conference after the meeting.

“Go To Travel ensures that people move from high to low risk, and then all the things that they have been putting up on and what they are putting up on now are lost. What kind of campaign does the country do? But Mutsu City is responsible for protecting its citizens."

Mutsu City has urged citizens to act within the city as much as possible, prior to the April national emergency declaration being expanded nationwide. In addition, we have been taking measures while seeking "endurance", such as calling on those who are from home to refrain from returning home. So far, the number of confirmed infections in the city has been suppressed to zero.

Medical systems in local cities that are too weak

Miyashita's sense of crisis is due to severe medical circumstances.

The public Mutsu General Hospital in Mutsu City is the only general hospital that supports medical care for approximately 80,000 people, including residents of Mutsu City and the surrounding four municipalities.

If a person infected with the new corona is found in the Shimokita area around Mutsu City, it will be accepted here, but there are only 4 beds dedicated to infectious diseases.

There are 10 ventilators used to treat critically ill patients, and no ventilator (ECMO).

In addition, there is a chronic shortage of doctors and nurses, and some departments usually have a waiting time of 4 hours. If it becomes necessary to deal with the new corona in such a situation, it will easily interfere with normal medical care.

This is not limited to Mutsu City. How to secure the medical care provision system is a common issue in local cities nationwide.

Fear the "first"

In addition, there are such circumstances.

So far, no infected person has been confirmed in Mutsu City. For that reason, there is widespread anxiety among citizens that "I do not want to be the first infected person." In Aomori prefecture, where there are only 30 infected people, when an infected person is confirmed, a local paper will make a one-sided figure that shows the route of infection and the number of concentrated contacts and will publish it.

And in the area, who is the infected person, what company or shop person is, and “seek infected person” starts not only in small talk but also on the Internet. All citizens are afraid of the rumor damage caused by this.

Miyashita says, "In the number 1 (of infected people), there is one life, life, a family and life connected to it. I want Japan to cherish it."

Complex thoughts on "old nests"

Actually, Miyashita is from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism who is in charge of "Go To Travel".

After graduating from university, he joined the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, where he was suddenly killed by his father, who was the mayor of Mutsu, and spent 11 years as a bureaucrat until he ran for the mayor. I feel that I learned the basics as a mayor at the government office.

However, although "Go To Travel" was out of Tokyo, it will be implemented from July 22 as scheduled. I was discouraged to respond to the old nest, "I couldn't understand the actual situation in the area."

“The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is a ministry that implements measures on the ground with the lives and health of the people as the top priority.” “Is it necessary to implement a policy that drives the economy when the infection spreads?” The reason is that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has developed a stance of pursuing the interests of the people, rather than focusing on particular interests, which is why "Go To Travel" is implemented at the time when the infection spreads nationwide. I'm sorry for that.''

Pros and cons

Miyashita's “human disaster” remarks were featured in many media and had a great response, such as appearing live on commercial information programs.

The city hall received about 200 calls and emails from both inside and outside the prefecture. More than 60% of them were in favor of saying, "I often said!" and "I want to go to Mutsu City when it converges."

However, there are also tough voices such as "Those who do not turn the economy will die" "If you wait for it to settle, you will not have the tourism industry" "Do not discriminate against people living in areas where the infection is spreading" It was there.

Accommodation and tourist facilities that continue to be in trouble

In Mutsu City, to prevent the risk of spread of infection due to "Go To Travel", the maximum measures that the city can take are 4 consecutive holidays starting from the 23rd, "Yakken Onsen open-air bath" and "Nosaru Koen" 21 tourist facilities were closed.

In fact, the closure of public facilities has been repeatedly discussed among city officials and others regarding the necessity and method of closing the emergency declaration.

However, the implementation of "Go To Travel" was pushed ahead in time for the consecutive holidays from August to July, and for those who came from the metropolitan area in Aomori prefecture in July and those who went to the metropolitan area. As the number of infections increased and the possibility of infected people increasing in Mutsu City, discussions began in earnest in the direction of closure.

Since the emergency declaration was issued, the medical system in Shimokita has not changed, and we cannot afford to worry about the spread of the infection.

After a statement from Miyashita, a reservation at one of the accommodation facilities was canceled, centering on guests from areas where the infection was widespread, resulting in a 30% reduction. Executives at this facility worried, "I think it will take some time for normalization, but there may be people who hesitate to come after the convergence."

How to support the city's economy is an urgent issue that cannot be avoided.

First from the feet

Miyashita also fully understands the significance and necessity of "Go To Travel." However, under the current situation, I have repeatedly appealed that promotion of tourism should be limited to neighboring cities, towns and villages where the risk is low.

Currently, we are studying accommodation campaigns targeting nearby municipalities. Emphasize that it is necessary to take economic measures according to local circumstances, not across the country.

"To move the economy, people, things, and money needed to be moved, and "Go To Travel" was just that. However, with the spread of infection, it was not uniform throughout the country, but first in neighboring areas, within the prefecture. A lot of money is coming from the country to the rural areas, and how to utilize it should be considered in each region.

We are taking measures...

Even in Mutsu City, as with other local governments throughout the country, they have taken such measures to take economic measures.

It also issued a 300,000 yen benefit to restaurants, 80% property tax for accommodation operators, and a gift certificate with a premium. As for small items, if you use a restaurant to take out, more garbage will come out of your home, so there is also a support measure to give away the garbage bags designated by the city to citizens free of charge.

For the 300,000 yen benefit business, it is said that there have been applications from more than 940 companies, which exceeds the expected 90%.

In July, I started to support a student from Mutsu City, who is in financial difficulty because he cannot work part-time.

We will send assorted items worth about 5,000 yen, such as retort of local gourmet "Kaiji curry" and special product "Kaikyo salmon" Ochazuke, to more than 800 people.

With the number of tourists declining, it aims to support specialty product dealers.

About 1.1 billion yen in financial resources was generated by reversing the budget adjustment fund, which is a subsidy from the national government and saving money from the city, and the budget was rearranged. Of the city's annual revenues, the independent financial resources are 30% or less, and the real debt service ratio, which shows the soundness of the fiscal health, is 16.6%, the lowest class in the whole country. The budget was unprecedented in a difficult financial situation.

While it is still uncertain when Corona's epidemic will settle down, there is a limit to how much the local government can continue to take measures.

"Can you save your life?"

However, Miyashita emphasizes:

"What the top executives of a local government are all about is how to protect the lives and health of citizens and how to ensure safety and security. And the economy is also directly linked to life. If the economy cools, As a son of a liquor store, I know that I have to get my head cut in difficult situations, but in the phase of the spread of infection, whether I can save or not save my life Inside, we need to do what we can.''

The government has maintained its basic policy of achieving both infection prevention and gradual resumption of socio-economic activities. On the other hand, new infections are being confirmed not only in Tokyo but throughout Japan. How does the country hear the voices of local cities, which must be said to be "man-made disasters"?
On the other hand, how can local governments protect their lives while keeping the local economy running and maintaining their finances? If Coronal Eruption continues, we may face even more serious problems. The way it should be now is being questioned.
(Honorific title omitted)

Mutsu Branch Reporter
Hiroe Sano Joined the company in
2016. After moving to the Aomori station, he is currently covering the Shimokita Peninsula by himself while rotating the camera at the Mutsu branch. The northernmost NHK reporter in Honshu.