Will Japan’s “good fortune” again make up for slow or deficient government action in combating a dreadful disease?

Cynics say that new year optimism lasts until at least the second week in January. My personal hope that the Japanese government had learned something from the ineffectiveness of previous efforts to mitigate past Covid episodes here sadly supports the point.

With Covid cases attributed to the highly infectious Omicron variant in Tokyo and other population centers increasing at an alarming rate, the new Prime Minister and Ministry bureaucrats have promised that decisions will be made and announced this coming Monday.

That they will represent an effective response or be quickly and efficiently implemented remain significant questions. Past experience is not a cause for optimism.