How many of us will be writing of our experiences during this time of a declared world pandemic in the early months of 2020? Quite a few of us I imagine, and I imagine quite a few of us who can, probably should.
My contribution to this project will be largely from the perspective of living in Tokyo during these times. Besides personal anecdotes, I will also present some 'first draft' analyses of how the politics of the pandemic are playing out, with a little Japan-Australia comparison for good measure.
The Abe Government late last week decreed a 'state of emergency' in seven prefectures including Tokyo. Some would say it was too late. There has been a battle of wits between Prime Minister Abe and, in particular, Tokyo Governor Koike (more on their personal rivalries later). While the national and prefectural governments do not correspond directly with Australia's federal/state relations, we have seen similar power plays between the Prime Minister and prefectural governors, not unlike the challenges presented by PM Morrison and state premiers. The state of emergency gives prefectures some room to announce quite strict measures regarding staying at home, what might be considered essential vs non-essential services for purposes of opening and closing hours, and who should be going to work and who should be 'teleworking'.
I work at a University and much of the past couple of months has focussed on, in the first instance, the welfare of students studying overseas, planning to study overseas, planning to come to Japan to study at our University and an unfortunate few who, just one or two weeks into their long-cherished dream of overseas study had to return home. My role as Director of International Relations carried a particular level of responsibility. On the other hand, a move to domestic responses and the likelihood of all classes going online for at least the first term, saw me shift gears (just a little) as Chair of the Department of Political Science. As the year proceeded, our significant academic markers--graduation ceremonies, inductions, orientations--were gradually cancelled as the reality of COVID19 bore down on us. I still find graduation ceremonies one of the most important events in the academic year, particularly since this cohort had started university the same year I started working here (2016) so we shared a sense of achievement, a sense of 'making it'. As for the first year students, what this 'introduction' will mean for them is yet, I suspect, to play out.
With the state of emergency in place now, students and academics are not permitted on campus until at least 6 May and a significant number of admin staff are required to work from home. Ironically, our university had been preparing for a more comprehensive online environment starting in 2021, but circumstances have forced a hasty reworking of that plan. Classes 'commenced' last week, via an online platform. My classes for this term are mostly 'reading' classes which don't require screen time (I mean they could but I'm not sure all students are immediately in a position or environment where they can download the data required). Rather, I am encouraging students to use this time as a 'deep reading' opportunity, with a reading guide each week. First-year classes have been delayed for a couple of weeks to ensure all students have received the necessary resources to get themselves up and running online. I can't help but think this is not an ideal introduction to their new uni life but I guess we will see soon enough. As it was, the academic year was planned around the Olympics due to be held in 2020. Our Tokyo Bay campus is in the heart of many of the venues and was due to be utilised as part of the Olympic administration. We now have to rethink that for 2021.
In the meantime, I am myself adjusting to working at home and not going out unless absolutely necessary (which generally means popping down to the convenience store for milk, newspapers and other essentials and the local greengrocer for essential strawberries and apples and veges). I am in a fortunate place where in some ways, being a 'homebody' is a preferred life choice anyway. But we are not yet one week in and I expect my longing for a walk in the park or a visit to the beach will come along soon enough. I am also reflecting on the fact that, even if I wanted too, I cannot presently return to Australia, indefinitely; that has a particularly surreal element to it. Nonetheless, I shall do what needs to be done. On twitter the other day, I posted a pic and a comment to the effect that I seemed to be adjusting OK--at 3.30pm, the coffee I made two hours previously was now cold, the morning paper had remained unread and I seem to have spent the bulk of my time on work emails...*just like a day at the office*...
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| Just another day at the office, really |
In future posts, I will consider the political decisions taken as we moved into this 'requested' (as opposed to compulsory) lockdown, how the government leaders in Abe and Koike particularly 'finessed' the Olympic decision, and try to convey some of the day-to-day realities we find ourselves in.
And the latest national figures available today, as we watch the curve,
Cases confirmed*: 7268 people
Deaths: 138 people
Source: Asahi Shimbun at 10.00pm 12 April 2020
That asterisk? * 'excludes numbers from the cruise ship Diamond Princess', about more of which in subsequent posts.
Thank you for reading.
