This July 18, 2020 essay examines the increase in COVID-19 cases linked to nightlife establishments in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s response, the division of authority and responsibility between the national and Tokyo governments, the so-called “Tokyo problem,” and the need to debate constitutional emergency provisions.
It sharply criticises opposition parties for allegedly avoiding constitutional debate because of electoral cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party, as described by Representative Shiori Yamao.

2020-07-18
It is a well-known fact that the increase in the number of infections in Tokyo began with host clubs located in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district.
With the exception of the Governor of Tokyo, ward mayors and others in authority, every Japanese citizen must have wondered why those establishments were not ordered to suspend their operations.
If that inability was caused by the foolish Constitution imposed by the GHQ, people must at least have thought that the names of the establishments should be disclosed in order to stop the spread of infection.
However, just as in the case of the K-1 event that was forcibly held before a huge audience at Saitama Super Arena and became the greatest factor in the first increase in infections, Koike adopted neither of those measures.
The number of infections continued to expand day by day, and infections also began to appear at similar establishments in Ikebukuro.
When the number of infections continued to increase and the Japanese people began to wonder what was happening, what did Koike do?
She began spreading propaganda suggesting that the national government, rather than herself, was responsible.
Unless an incumbent governor has repeatedly committed extraordinarily serious failures, it was self-evident that the incumbent would win the Tokyo gubernatorial election by an overwhelming margin.
After all, Koike appeared on television every day through her coronavirus press conferences.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that all of her opponents were merely minor candidates.
Today’s Sankei Shimbun carried two articles concerning Koike, whose only outstanding talent is self-promotion.
The following is taken from Sankei Sho.
Regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus, the expression “the Tokyo problem,” used by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga in a speech on the 11th, spread throughout society in an instant.
The national government also excluded travel to and from Tokyo from discounts under its “GO TO Travel” tourism-support programme because of the marked increase in infections, or positive test results, in Tokyo.
However, the expression “the Tokyo problem” had already been circulating within the government.
In an article dated May 5 concerning the extension of the state of emergency, this newspaper also introduced the following claim by a senior government official:
“The figures announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government each day sometimes include accumulated cases and are therefore different from the actual number for that day.
There is also a ‘Tokyo problem’ with testing.”
The prefectural governors are the ones who possess the actual authority, and there is frustration within the national government because it cannot control the entire situation as it wishes.
When Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike emphasised on the 14th that the number of people who could no longer be contacted after testing positive was “one,” a government official openly expressed distrust, saying, “How can she say that so shamelessly?”
Why has disunity emerged between the national government and local authorities when they should originally have been acting together?
“Can the present Constitution truly respond to an emergency?”
Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso made this statement at a party held on the 16th and argued for the inclusion in the Constitution of an emergency clause defining the authority and role of the national government.
Japan could at any time face a major disaster, the spread of a new infectious disease or an emergency exceeding the coronavirus crisis.
It should be natural to prepare in advance for foreseeable emergencies in order to protect the lives of the people.
The major opposition parties, however, remain reluctant to engage in constitutional debate.
According to Democratic Party for the People member of the House of Representatives Shiori Yamao, the reason is:
“If we debate it, the Communist Party will field a rival candidate against us.”
Twitter, June 30.
It is a foolish and sorrowful state of politics.