Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, fourth from left, meets on Jan. 28 with Tetsuro Fukuyama, second from left, his counterpart in the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. (Kotaro Ebara)
The Liberal Democratic Party on Jan. 28 deleted criminal penalties from proposed legal revisions to deal with COVID-19 following widespread criticism of the threat and embarrassment caused by the behavior of ruling coalition lawmakers.
In discussions with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the LDP retracted all proposed criminal penalties against COVID-19 patients who refuse to be hospitalized or are unwilling to cooperate with authorities to trace infection routes.