During Britain’s lockdown, many people continued having affairs, attending parties, and visiting relatives, eventually prompting the government to prohibit sexual activity with anyone outside the household.
Mayumi Tanimoto explains why Europeans frustrated by widespread rule-breaking agreed with Taro Aso’s remark that Japan had higher standards of public conduct.

June 29, 2020
The reaction of ordinary people was one of fury: “Am I supposed to have sex with my parents?”
It says a great deal about the level of public conduct in Britain.
The following is taken from an essay by Mayumi Tanimoto entitled “Mr. Abe, Nice Guy! This Has Nothing to Do with the Right or the Left. People of Japan, These Are the Genuine Voices from Overseas!” published in the monthly magazine WiLL, which went on sale on June 26.
The monthly magazine WiLL is essential reading not only for the Japanese people but also for people throughout the world.
Anyone who has not yet subscribed should immediately head to the nearest bookstore.
That is because it is filled with genuine essays such as this one.
And yet, it costs only 920 yen, including consumption tax.
People Overseas Who Praise Japan
Europeans Who Agree with Mr. Aso’s Remarks
With things in this state, the British government tightened some of its rules after easing the lockdown at the beginning of June, despite having supposedly relaxed the restrictions.
Astonishingly, it prohibited people from having sex at home with anyone outside their own household, as well as having sex outdoors, and made such acts criminal offences.
The reaction of ordinary people was one of fury: “Am I supposed to have sex with my parents?”
It says a great deal about the level of public conduct in Britain.
The reason matters came to this was that a scientist serving as an adviser to the prime minister, who had terrified the public with a prediction that hundreds of thousands of people would die, was discovered secretly meeting his married lover and carrying on with her during the lockdown.
People began saying that, if the man telling everyone else to restrain themselves was having an affair, then perhaps there was no real danger after all.
They reasoned that, if meeting secretly indoors was forbidden, then surely having sex outdoors should be acceptable.
While Japanese people quietly and conscientiously observed the restrictions, Britain, despite its enormous death toll, had large numbers of couples continuing to have affairs and repeatedly visiting their boyfriends’ or girlfriends’ homes.
Even though visits to other people’s homes and parties were prohibited, people breaking the rules were seen everywhere.
In fact, even in my neighbourhood, people held street parties on Victory in Europe Day, visited relatives, and had barbecues.
Naturally, this caused disputes among neighbours.
However, even when the police were notified, the gatherings were effectively ignored because robberies, car thefts, and drug dealing were more widespread than usual.
Are these people afflicted by some kind of disease that will kill them unless they gather together?
With things in this state, more Europeans agreed than disagreed with Mr. Aso’s recent remark that “Japan has higher standards of public conduct than your country.”
They were thoroughly fed up with their own governments and with people who continually violated the rules.
People with pre-existing conditions, as well as middle-aged and older people at greater risk of developing severe illness, praised him for saying what needed to be said.
The only people criticising Mr. Aso are Japanese leftists and media organisations that do not understand the reality overseas.