Japan launches COVID-19 vaccinations as Olympics approach

TOKYO - Japan began administering COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday, starting with health workers in Tokyo before expanding the rollout nationwide as the clock ticks down to the Summer Olympics.

The country has been slow to launch inoculations against the coronavirus, starting its program later than at least 70 other countries as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's public support dwindles amid criticism of a sluggish pandemic response.

Speaking in a parliamentary committee meeting, Suga reiterated that vaccines will be the "decisive factor" in fighting the coronavirus and vowed to move forward with the rollout while keeping the public informed.

Vaccinations are due to take place at 100 medical facilities across the country by next week, with specialized freezers already in place to store the vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer Inc. and Germany's BioNTech SE at subzero temperatures.

Of the initial group of 40,000 health workers, 20,000 will participate in a study to track side effects potentially caused by the vaccine and the frequency with which they occur.

They will be asked to keep daily records for 7 weeks after taking the first of 2 shots. The shots will be administered 3 weeks apart.

Twelve staff, including 3 doctors and 5 nurses at the state-run Tokyo Medical Center, were inoculated on Wednesday with none immediately feeling any side effects.

Hospital head Kazuhiro Araki, who was first in the country to receive the shot, said he hopes participating in the study will "help both staff and patients prevent infections."

A further 3.7 million front-line health workers are to begin being inoculated in March, followed by 36 million people aged 65 or older from April.

People with preexisting conditions such as diabetes or heart disease and those working at elderly care facilities will come next, and then finally the general population.

The minister in charge of vaccination efforts, Taro Kono, said Tuesday that foreign residents will become eligible for the free shots in the same order of priority as Japanese citizens, as long as they are registered with a municipality.

Japan received the first shipment of about 386,000 doses from Pfizer's factory in Belgium last week and granted fast-track approval for domestic use on Sunday.

Kono told a press conference that the second shipment had been cleared by the European Union under its new vaccine export controls and was expected to arrive next week, but declined to say how many doses it would contain.

-Kyodo News-

Japanese gov't OKs cash handout to struggling students amid pandemic

TOKYO - The Cabinet approved Tuesday a program to provide up to 200,000 yen ($1,900) in cash handout to each of around 430,000 university and other students in Japan struggling financially to pay for their tuition or livelihoods amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The support measure comes as the pandemic has led to business closures in many regions and forced students to suspend or cut back on their part-time jobs. Students from overseas are also subject to the program.

Students from low-income households exempt from residence tax will receive 200,000 yen each and others 100,000 yen.

The government has set aside 53 billion yen to finance the program, which covers students at universities, graduate schools, junior colleges, technical schools and Japanese language schools.

"It's most important for students not to abandon continuing and advancing their education. We'd like to quickly provide assistance to all," education minister Koichi Hagiuda told reporters.

The government will depend on the schools to determine which of their students should receive the assistance and will disburse the payment through the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent body that provides financial aid to students.

-Kyodo-

Japan's modern, ancient capitals to tighten coronavirus curbs

TOKYO -- Tokyo will ask a range of businesses to close during a month-long emergency to fight the new coronavirus, the governor of the Japanese capital said on Friday, as the ancient capital Kyoto warned of spreading contagion and urged tourists to stay away.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike had been feuding with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government over what businesses should shut during the emergency, highlighting Abe's desire to minimise fallout for a struggling economy and fueling concerns that his measures are too little, too late.

Koike told reporters late on Thursday she and Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura had reached an agreement, and she was expected to hold a news conference on Friday.

The governor will stick to her plan to ask a range of businesses, including pachinko parlors and internet cafes, to close and restaurants to shorten their hours, but bowed to central government pressure to keep department stores, home-furnishing centers and barber shops open, public broadcaster NHK said.

"It's about protecting lives ... so I think Tokyo residents understand the need to act quickly," Koike told reporters, adding she wanted the measures to take effect on Saturday.

Abe declared the emergency on Tuesday for Tokyo and 6 other prefectures, but the details of how life would change in the Japanese capital had to be hammered out in tense inter-governmental talks.

Abe's move came after a jump in coronavirus cases in Tokyo sparked concern that Japan was headed for the sort of explosive outbreak seen in many other countries.

The number of cases in Japan rose to 5,548 on Thursday, with 108 deaths, NHK said. Tokyo accounted for 1,519 cases, heightening concerns about sluggish action.

Other regions are now clamoring to be included in the national emergency.

The governor of Aichi in Japan's industrial heartland, which hosts Toyota Motor Corp, was to declare its own state of emergency on Friday and has asked to be added to the government's targeted regions. Gifu in central Japan was also poised to issue an emergency declaration, media said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday that experts consulted by the government had not recommended that other regions be included in the emergency.

KYOTO TELLS TOURISTS TO STAY AWAY

The governor of Kyoto prefecture and the mayor of the ancient capital also asked to be included, while urging tourists to stay away from its famous palaces, temples and gardens.

"I call on all people who love Kyoto and tourists from all over the world - until this situation is ended, to protect yourself and your families, please refrain from visiting Kyoto," Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa told a news conference.

Some experts fear the feud between Tokyo and the central government could undermine Abe's goal to cut person-to-person contact by 80 percent to slow the pace of the pathogen's spread.

"The tension between Koike and the cabinet will definitely damage the impact of the (emergency) declaration," said Kenji Shibuya, head of the Institute for Population Health at King's College, London.

"There is zero chance of achieving 80 percent."

Koike, once seen as a possible future premier, had pressed Abe to declare a state of emergency sooner and made clear she wanted to quickly ask a range of businesses to close.

In late March, she warned Tokyo could face a full "lockdown" if infections surged, although Japanese law does not mandate penalties for residents who refuse to stay home or businesses that stay open.

Abe has stressed Japan's state of emergency is not a lockdown, and critics say he is sending a mixed message that confuses residents as well as businesses.

Koike will also create a fund for businesses that meet her requests to close, NHK said. Abe has rejected calls to compensate such businesses in a 108 trillion yen ($993 billion).

-Reuters-