Feb 2, 2021
Japan has significantly fewer COVID-19 cases compared with Western countries and more beds per capita. At the same time, the nation’s hospitals are close to breaking point, overwhelmed with patients.
So far there have been about 390,000 novel coronavirus cases reported in Japan, while the figure is more than 26 million in the United States, 3.8 million in the United Kingdom and 2.2 million in Germany, according to a Reuters tally.
But despite the relatively low number of cases, prefectures currently under a state of emergency are seeing about 70% of their hospital beds for virus patients occupied, causing serious strain on the medical system.
Is Japan the least attractive country?
A surprising result
A college student communicating with her friends via LINE while commuting to school; a businessperson looking at an iPhone at Starbucks; a couple looking for a wedding ring at Tiffany; a mom shopping at SEIYU. Even though we have less occasions to go out these days due to the spread of the new coronavirus, these are scenes that we have seen before. What they have in common is that all these service providers are foreign-owned firms. Indeed, it is now common to see the services provided by foreign-owned firms in daily life.
Dec 18, 2020
Much has been made of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) since it was signed in November. After all, participating countries account for 30% of the world’s GDP. Conspicuously absent was the United States.
As president-elect Joe Biden prepares for his inauguration, the international community is anticipating how the incoming administration will approach free trade. In some ways, RCEP is the result of America’s shifting attitude on such trade.
In the early stages of the negotiations, China insisted on basing the free trade framework on ASEAN countries “Plus Three” (Japan, China and South Korea). Tokyo, worried about Beijing further expanding its influence, advocated adding India, Australia and New Zealand, to form an “ASEAN Plus Six” framework.