SoftBank’s Son Criticizes Japan Again for Its Virus Response
SoftBank’s Son Criticizes Japan Again for Its Virus Response
(Bloomberg) --
Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group Corp., again criticized the Japanese government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying it’s not doing enough to reach its goals for social distancing.
Son said on Twitter the situation will be prolonged because the government’s emergency declaration was incomplete, and testing and quarantine measures were being implemented too slowly. The infected who have yet to show symptoms continue to commute on trains and buses, and the virus is spreading to families, he said.
Earlier this month, Son, one of the country’s most prominent business leaders, criticized the government for not doing enough to reach its goals of curtailing social interactions by 70% or 80%.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended the areas for a state of emergency to the entire nation this week as cases rose across Japan. Despite the increase, Japan still has the fewest confirmed infections of any Group of Seven leading democracy at almost 10,000 as of Saturday, compared with about 700,000 in the U.S.
Japan has been conducting testing at a much slower pace than other countries, making the picture unclear on whether it’s headed for a slow containment, or is on the cusp of an explosive surge in infections.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.