First 3,000 People Confirmed for Coronavirus in Japan … Suga’s Approval Rating Rises to 40%

In winter, the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) is pronounced around the world, and Japan also surpassed 3,000 new cases per day for the first time on the 12th. As criticism of the government’s response intensified, government to the coronavirus, Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet approval rating plummeted to 40%.

On the 12th, citizens with masks walk through the streets of Harajuku, Tokyo. On this day, the number of corona19 infections in Tokyo was 621, a record. [EPA=연합뉴스]

According to the NHK broadcast on the 13th, the number of new corona 19 confirmed in Japan the previous day was counted as 3,041. The number of new confirmed cases per day exceeded 3,000 for the first time, breaking the record since the Corona 19 epidemic. The confirmed cumulative number was 178,954 (including those infected with the cruise ship).

The death toll rose by 28 on day 12, 2,595, and the number of seriously ill patients also rose to 578, the highest in history. The number of people infected per day in the capital Tokyo was 621, a record.

Japanese media reported that a “ medical collapse ” has already started in various parts of Japan due to the increase in seriously ill patients. In particular, in the case of Asahikawa city in Hokkaido, a group infection occurs in hospitals, and there are many cases when pregnant women and patients with chronic diseases cannot visit the hospital and have difficulties.

Medical personnel from the Self-Defense Forces were also dispatched to Hokkaido and Osaka, which are experiencing a serious crisis in the medical system, but it is not enough to respond to the increasing number of patients.

As anxiety over Corona 19 spreads, the Japanese government’s approval rating has plummeted. On the 12th, in a survey conducted by Mainichi Shimbun in conjunction with the Research Center for Social Research on 1,065 men and women aged 18 and over in Japan, the Suga cabinet’s approval rate was found to be 40%. It’s a whopping 17 percentage points lower than the poll published on the 7th of last month.

On the other hand, the response that Suga does not support the cabinet was counted as 49%, 13 percentage points more than the previous survey, and for the first time since the inauguration of Suga’s cabinet, the negative evaluations outweighed the positive ones.

In the December public opinion poll published by the news agency on the 11th, the cabinet’s approval rate registered 43.1%, 5.2 percentage points less than the previous month.

Mainichi analyzed that the government’s tepid response to the Corona 19 incident led to a sharp drop in approval ratings. Only 14% of respondents said they “evaluate” the government’s response to Corona 19 in this survey. 62% of those surveyed had negative evaluations. In last month’s survey, 34% were positive and 27% were negative.

67% of respondents said it should stop the Japanese government’s travel support plan, Go To Travel, and 57% said it should declare an emergency again.

Asahikawa Welfare Hospital in Hokkaido, where the COVID-19 outbreak occurred. [교도=연합뉴스]

Even within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, there are complaints about Prime Minister Suga that he has no sense of crisis and lacks leadership. A member of the main Liberal Democratic Party legislator criticized Mainichi, saying: “Every day, the number of infected people is increasing rapidly and there is a shortage of beds, but the government is not using its hands.”

Although experts continue to recommend the cessation of ‘fight trips’, the Japanese government remains firm in the position that there is no plan. The government will discuss the related issues again at the Corona 19 Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the 14th. It is worth noting the decision that Prime Minister Suga will take after three months of inauguration, with an approval rate close to 30%.
Tokyo = Correspondent Lee Young-hee [email protected]