Chinanews.com, March 7th. At present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is spreading globally, and the cumulative number of cases outside China has exceeded 17,000. Compared with the recent surge in cases in South Korea, Italy, and Iran, the rate of confirmed diagnosis in Japan has slowed down, with more than 1,000 people infected.

World epidemic situation map.

However, the Japanese government has not relaxed its vigilance, has introduced a number of epidemic prevention measures in succession, and called on the public to prevent epidemics rationally. Because despite the shortage of masks in Japan, the public seems to be more keen to buy a lot of toilet paper.

Growth of confirmed diagnosis slows, authorities expand testing capacity

According to statistics from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and local governments, as of 22:00 local time on March 6, Japan has confirmed a total of 1,112 cases of new coronary pneumonia, including 60 severe cases and 12 deaths.

It is understood that the infected included 696 passengers and flight attendants of the "Diamond Princess" cruise ship, 357 infected and tourists in Japan, and 14 people who returned to Japan by charter flights from the Japanese government.

As the “Diamond Princess” cruise crews have completed testing, the increase in cases of infected persons in Japan only needs to be counted for infected persons in various parts of the country, and the rate of confirmed cases has slowed down significantly.

Among the infected people in Japan, Hokkaido has the most serious situation, with 90 people infected. There are also cases of infection in Tokyo, Kyoto Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Aichi Prefecture.

In order to expand testing capabilities, Japan will include new crown pneumonia nucleic acid testing in medical insurance on the 6th. Katsushika Fujita, Japan's health supporter, said recently that due to the addition of civilian inspection forces, it is expected that the number of daily inspections will reach 4,600 from March 10.

"I hope that in the future doctors will find it necessary and patients will be tested immediately," he said.

On March 1, local time, a toilet in a store in Tokyo, Japan, was robbed of toilet paper, leaving little left.

Under the epidemic, can the Tokyo Olympics be held as scheduled?

At present, Japan's ability to host the Tokyo Olympic Games under the influence of the epidemic has become a topic of worldwide attention. Moreover, with the escalation of the epidemic, the concerns of the outside world have also changed from whether the Olympic Games will be affected and whether this event will be cancelled or held ex situ?

On February 25th local time, Dick Pound, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee, made a decision in late May about whether to cancel the Tokyo Olympics, which further escalated the outside world's doubts. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee quickly "fired out", saying there is still no reason to change the Tokyo Olympics hosting plan.

Since then, although the Japanese Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto stated that the Tokyo Olympics can be adjusted according to the agreement within 2020, the Japanese authorities are still committed to making the Tokyo Olympics open as scheduled on July 24.

At present, preparations for the Tokyo Olympics are proceeding in an orderly manner. On the one hand, the Olympic flame collection and delivery activities will be launched from Greece on March 12 after the "downsizing". On the other hand, IOC also encourages global athletes to continue preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.

On March 4, local time, in Osaka, Japan, a worker showed the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic gold medals produced by the Japanese Mint.

Masks in short supply, toilet paper "crazed"

Authorities call for rational epidemic prevention

Since the outbreak, masks have become the focus of global debate. In mid-February, the Japanese media cited data from the Japan Sanitary Material Industry Federation to report that Japan's domestic household masks had nearly 1 billion inventories, which had been exhausted in more than a month.

Recently, some Japanese netizens noticed that in a 7 • 11 convenience store in Japan, 60 boxes of ordinary masks cost 16900 yen, which is nearly 30 times higher than the usual price of 600 yen. However, observers have pointed out that the "mask shortage" has not caused a dramatic "mask mask panic" in Japanese society. The reason is that Japanese society has a habit of wearing masks on a daily basis, which is widely regarded as a "courtesy."

In contrast, the "purchasing tide" of toilet paper has sparked public debate. At the end of February, many people in Chiba, Kumamoto, and other regions in Japan snapped up toilet paper. After a number of shops posted restriction signs, the toilet paper was quickly sold out.

It is understood that the phenomenon stems from a rumor on the social network-"toilet paper and masks use the same raw materials, affected by new coronary pneumonia, there will be a shortage of toilet paper". In response, the Office of the Japan Household Paper Industry Association (Tokyo) made a rumor.

On March 3, regarding the shortage of masks and the public's rush for toilet paper, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan ’s Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Wei said that in March it would continue to expand the production capacity of masks to 600 million pieces per month. He also stated that "the inventory of toilet paper is sufficient and I hope the public can buy it calmly."

Data Map: The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yoshiyuki Nishi.

"The government alone can't win this battle", Abe calls on nationals to work together

At present, in order to respond to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the Japanese government has introduced a number of measures, and laws related to the new crown pneumonia epidemic are also being stepped up, including an announcement of a state of emergency.

At the end of February, the Japanese government requested suspension of elementary and secondary schools, suspension or extension of major sports and cultural events, and suspension of the National Museum and National Theater. In response to the government's call, many large-scale events in Japan have been cancelled, and many companies have begun to encourage employees to work from home.

On March 1, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested relevant departments to use the reserve of more than 270 billion yen in this fiscal year's budget to formulate the second emergency prevention and control countermeasures around the 10th.

As a serious epidemic area in Japan, the Japanese Hokkaido government announced a state of emergency on February 28 and called on local people to try not to go to places where large crowds gather.

In addition, in view of the spread of the epidemic, the Cabinet meeting of the Japanese government decided to cancel the memorial ceremony for the Great East Japan Earthquake on the 11th, and replaced Abe and related cabinet members to observe the dead in the Prime Minister's residence on the 11th.

At present, Japan's war "epidemic" operation has been fully launched. Abe said on February 29, "The government alone cannot win this battle. In order to reach a final solution, the understanding and cooperation of medical institutions, families, companies, local governments and citizens are more essential."