Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologised on Wednesday soon after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited evening clubs regardless of his government’s contact for people today to prevent unnecessary outings to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The news is an additional headache for Suga whose approval rating has tumbled due to dissatisfaction with his handling of the pandemic, which critics have known as as well slow and inconsistent.
“I’m terribly sorry that this happened when we are asking people not to eat out after 8 p.m. and to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings,” Suga told parliament.
“Each lawmaker should behave to gain the public’s understanding.”
Japan this month issued a state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions to tame a sharp raise in COVID-19 instances. The measure involves a request for restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. while there are at present no penalties for non-compliance.
“My behaviour was careless at a time when we are asking people to be patient,” Jun Matsumoto, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters.
Matsumoto was speaking following a Daily Shincho magazine report that he had visited two-evening clubs in Tokyo’s posh Ginza district soon after dining at an Italian restaurant final Monday.
Kiyohiko Toyama, a lawmaker from the coalition’s junior companion Komeito, also apologised soon after tabloid Shukan Bunshun reported he had visited a higher-finish evening club in Ginza till late final Friday.
Twitter customers voiced their aggravation.
“It is just a matter of time before public anger explodes. I don’t want a blanket cash-payout of 100,000 yen ($965), I want them to quit! ” wrote one user.
“They are really stupid. Don’t they think about what they are doing and how the public sees them? If they don’t, they are unqualified to represent the public,” mentioned an additional.
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