Hi! I’m Nathan and welcome to Ninja monkey. The place for all things related to Japan
where I’m currently focusing on what’s going on behind Japan’s closed borders.
My aim in this video is to put all the readily available information into one place and make
it it easy for you to follow, Here are some stories that didn’t make it into my last video
and a shorter format Midweek round up of some of the things
that have been happening behind Japan’s closed border, so that you
can make informed decisions leading to answering the question “When will Japan’s border open?”
As always I will continue to include additional stories, vaccine and other stats in my weekly
review video at the end of the week! And expand on some of these stories too! So make sure you
are subscribed and your notifications are turned on so that you don’t miss anything.
And, as always, all links are included in the video description so that you can do
your own reading if you wish to. Time stamps are also available for your convenience too!
With the Paralympics having just started it’s good to see that potentially it
might bring along some positive change once the games are over.
Railway operators are working towards allowing people in wheelchairs to take
a train without the aid of any station staff members.
Although I have experienced wheel chair users boarding trains in Japan
in what always seems like quite an efficient way, this usually relies on the help of a staff member
setting up a ramp to aid the user, so It’s great to see that efforts are being made to reduce
vertical steps between train floors and platforms and horizontal gaps between trains and platforms
so that wheelchair users can get on and off trains by themselves.
I hope that this brings additional change for a more accessible friendly Japan in the future.
.. The Japan Direct
Marketing Association (JADMA) have announced that sales of online and catalogue shopping in Japan
topped 10 trillion yen (or 90 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time in 2020
as people used the Internet or telephone to order and buy food,
home appliances and furniture as they refrained from going out or working from home.
I’m sure that there have been many similar stories around the world regarding the
success of online sales. When speaking to my Japanese friends, one of the things they
mention as a positive from the state of emergency and covid restrictions in Japan
has been the way that the food and restaurant industry has changed by offering delivery options,
with many restaurants and stores that originally didn’t deliver changing course and now delivering,
therefore making it even more convenient to eat from your favourite restaurant!
Have any of you had similar experiences in your countries? Do you feel that you are more reliant
on online shopping and home delivery? Do you see this as a positive or negative thing? – I’d love
to know your thoughts on this one, I for one love the convenience and safety of ordering in,
but at the same time there’s nothing like a busy izakaya and hanging out with the locals.
This next story is a little infuriating. The fact that students and even people
separated from their loved ones continue to be denied entry into Japan but yet Kiefer Ravena,
a Filipino professional basketball player is able to enter Japan, leaving on 25th August to process
necessary requirements needed for his B.League stint with the Shiga Lakestars is mind blowing.
I understand that these individuals are able to enter Japan under a “special circumstances”
immigration exemption. However students continue to be caught in the difficult situation of not
being able to enter and make plans about the future. Some student having to wait and others
taking online classes and having to wake up very early in the morning to complete zoom sessions.
Perhaps its time to include students in the list of ‘special circumstances’.
The fact that Government sponsored students and Jet candidates are allowed entry must make it
even more frustrating for those wanting to enter. A source of mine who is entering Japan on the JET
program has shared the entry requirements.. which are actually very similar to the
current requirements for entry: - All Jet applicants will need
to quarantine regardless of vaccine status - Some might need to isolate for a minimum
three days at a government chosen hotel depending on their country or state of origin.
- During special quarantine, applicants cannot leave the room for any reason
but after three days if healthy and negative you can move around the hotel.
So, I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts regarding special circumstances
for entry into Japan. Students, how long have you been waiting to enter?
And those with loved ones waiting to be reunited, what is helping you cope?
And finally a quick update regarding Numbers in Tokyo and nationwide.
Osaka Prefecture reported a record 2,808 fresh cases while Tokyo logged 4,228.
Tokyo for infections are down by 1,158 from the previous Wednesday and The seven-day average
of new cases over the week of Aug. 25 came to 4,471.4, 4.8 percent less than the previous week.
Additionally The number of tests conducted daily from Aug. 22 to Aug. 24 averaged 13,908.3.
I’ll release a more in-depth update as always
in the weekend but at least you can paint a small picture of whats going on.
Anyway, as always, Thanks so much for watching this far and staying tuned..
if you are still watching, then hopefully it means that you liked the video! So please support me
by pressing the like button as it tells YouTube that you are interested in this type of content.
As always, lets get a conversation started in the comment section.
I do try to respond to as many as I can! I’d love to know your thoughts!
Till next time . Arigatou, gracias thanks bye!