March 18th, 2020 at 11:25 PM
Just got word from my (host) family in Japan, so here's a little insider update from over there:
From our short convo today. I didn't want to drag it on too long because although I messaged them at like 4AM (Eastern Time, -5:00) last night (5PM their time), they only got back to me at like 2PM my time (or 3AM there) and I figured they would want to get some sleep.
** - I don't mean any offense to that statement, that's how J-List senpai/owner (Peter Payne) described it in a blog post/email which I can't find now. But as an anecdote, in some subway stations (Tokyo) they have typical ceiling tiles. One time while travelling, I saw a crew replacing a damaged one. There was a total of six or seven people in that crew:
1. Getting up on the ladder to replace it.
2. Holding the ladder as to not let it fall
3. To pass the replacement tile to the guy on the ladder.
4. To take the damaged tile from the guy on the ladder.
And a few people to literally just stand around and 'guard' the crew from people walking by, maintaining enough room to work in.
Not to mention they already had orange tape + pylons around the area to do the same job as those last few guys.
I think there was also someone holding a light, but that might have been the guy that was passing the replacement tile to the guy on the ladder.
In the West here, you'd send a crew of three people tops to do that job. Maybe even two. Partially because it's way cheaper to do it that way, but also because you really don't need that many people to do a simple job like that.
Their unemployment rate might be low, but many of the 'taken' jobs are just like that. Most of those jobs, however, are usually just like week-long contracts or whatever that you would find in a magazine at the subway station. Many of those jobs involve stuff like crossing guards for alleyways where cars don't drive anyway, and whatnot.
- Their prefecture (Kanagawa) has only a few cases, something like 60, but most people are trying to self isolate.
- They have a family-owned business making treats (mochi, dango, all sorts of buns, etc.) which has been hit pretty bad with cancellations and basically shutdown.
- More people work from home because most jobs are office jobs in Japan.
- Subways and public transit are still just about as crowded as ever, though. Lots of people still work non-office jobs like at the stations, or construction, landscaping/maintenance, etc., so that could significantly impact the infection rate. Don't know how many of those jobs are impacted, but Japan does have one of the most unproductive populations. **
- Shonen Jump!, the largest anime publisher/producing studio (Naruto, One Piece, etc.) has made their magazine free online so people can try to not lose their minds from the mundanity of staying indoors all day.
- Seems like pop-culture stuff is getting delayed there too, we might see Evangelion 4.0 get delayed again. That being said, most mangaka are shut-ins anyway so your fave manga will still have a chapter ready in due time.
- Most universities and higher-education have fully cancelled the semester. No online, no nothing. Just a full cancellation until perhaps the next semester/term in May. Campuses are closed (although residences are generally privately-owned, so no issue there,) but there's no word about compensation yet for the paid classes and lost time.
From our short convo today. I didn't want to drag it on too long because although I messaged them at like 4AM (Eastern Time, -5:00) last night (5PM their time), they only got back to me at like 2PM my time (or 3AM there) and I figured they would want to get some sleep.
** - I don't mean any offense to that statement, that's how J-List senpai/owner (Peter Payne) described it in a blog post/email which I can't find now. But as an anecdote, in some subway stations (Tokyo) they have typical ceiling tiles. One time while travelling, I saw a crew replacing a damaged one. There was a total of six or seven people in that crew:
1. Getting up on the ladder to replace it.
2. Holding the ladder as to not let it fall
3. To pass the replacement tile to the guy on the ladder.
4. To take the damaged tile from the guy on the ladder.
And a few people to literally just stand around and 'guard' the crew from people walking by, maintaining enough room to work in.
Not to mention they already had orange tape + pylons around the area to do the same job as those last few guys.
I think there was also someone holding a light, but that might have been the guy that was passing the replacement tile to the guy on the ladder.
In the West here, you'd send a crew of three people tops to do that job. Maybe even two. Partially because it's way cheaper to do it that way, but also because you really don't need that many people to do a simple job like that.
Their unemployment rate might be low, but many of the 'taken' jobs are just like that. Most of those jobs, however, are usually just like week-long contracts or whatever that you would find in a magazine at the subway station. Many of those jobs involve stuff like crossing guards for alleyways where cars don't drive anyway, and whatnot.
