#9 Emergency declared – India & Japan sign MoU – Diplomatic documents declassified – South Korean court’s ruling
By Divya Suresh
HIGHLIGHTS: 1st Jan – 15th Jan.
Suga declares a month-long emergency in Tokyo and some other prefectures to contain the coronavirus spread.
● A South Korean court’s recent ruling prosecuting the Japanese government is likely to further worsen bilateral ties.
● Declassification of diplomatic documents reveal the Japanese government’s stand over the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
● India and Japan sign memorandum of cooperation in the field of ICT and 5G technologies.
● Japan’s exports seen rising for the first time in two years – Reuters poll.
1. POLITICS
● With an explosive growth in the number of new coronavirus cases, Japan is assessed to be in stage 4 of COVID-19. Consequently, the government has declared a month-long emergency, starting from Jan 7, to attain the goal of reaching stage 3 by controlling the spread of the virus. As a part of a threefold plan to contain the spread of the virus, the government has asked restaurants to restrict operating hours. However, many are skeptical about the effectiveness of this decision. The other two plans are: punish a business for noncompliance and alleviate public fear through vaccinations. But even senior government officials do not seem convinced. One of them was quoted in Asahi Shimbun, as saying that the single-month state of emergency will not be adequate to curb surging infections.
● In a recent telephonic conversation between Suga and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it was mutually agreed on the need to distribute the coronavirus vaccine to developing countries so as to ensure a safe and successful Tokyo Olympics. Their conversation also focused on the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, scheduled in Dec. 2021. The summit, which will be hosted by the Government of Japan, aims to achieve SDG goals- in particular, to end malnutrition by 2030.
Divya Suresh is an alumna of Takshahila Institution’s Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Programme.
The views expressed above are the author’s own and do not represent Takshashila Institution’s recommendations.
