Coronavirus state of emergency has the Japanese staying home, hoarding cash
- As the government prepares to extend the emergency beyond February 7, members of the public are waiting it out – and few are spending money
- With consumption falling 11.5 per cent in December, businesses are struggling to survive and the economy is taking further blows
“We have not been out to a restaurant since the pandemic started last year because we just do not want to get ill or spread the virus,” said Judit Kawaguchi, a freelance writer who lives in Tokyo.
“I think it is just best to follow the rules set by the government and stay at home as much as possible. But we have been using this time to make plans on what we are going to do as soon as the state of emergency is lifted. We want to go on a long road trip in Japan with our dogs. I just feel that I need to get out of the house and go somewhere.”
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The obvious downside is that few are spending money at the moment, so more businesses are struggling to survive and the national economy is almost certain to slip further into retail recession and deflation. Japan has reported more than 376,000 cases of Covid-19, with 5,388 related deaths.
Government statistics paint a rather bleak picture of the normally free-spending country, with consumption down 4 per cent in November from the same month in 2019. Consumption fell a further 11.5 per cent in December, with spending at restaurants shrinking 36 per cent and takings at izakaya bars down 47 per cent – a particularly bad blow given the higher earnings expected in the run-up to the holiday season.
A Bank of Japan study released in January shows that the situation is likely to worsen, with 70 per cent of households saying they intend to eat and drink at home and save money.
And while savings at Japanese banks rose more than 9 per cent in December to a record 803 trillion yen (US$7.73 trillion), according to HSBC, Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami predicted this month that 30 per cent of the nation’s bars and restaurants could go under in the coming months.
“On the first Friday of the latest state of emergency, we had one customer all night,” said John Watkins, the owner of Yokohama’s popular British pub The Tavern. “On a normal Friday, we would get close to 200 people in. It’s absolutely crippling us.”
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He said the hospitality industry was feeling the pinch, with bars and restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka and surrounding prefectures under orders to close at 7pm.
“People are worried about catching the virus, of course, even though we are closely following the guidelines on taking customers’ temperature, providing hand sanitiser and so on,” Watkins said.
“A lot of people are also working from home as well now, so at the end of their day they choose to have a drink at home rather than making the effort to go to the pub. I think we can survive – I hope we can – but even with the government support, I’ve had to take out bank loans, so when this is all over I will have to pay back huge debts. And no one knows for sure how much longer this is going to go on for.”
While there are plenty staying at home during the state of emergency, others are taking a more relaxed approach. Mari Miyamoto, who twice a week commutes for 30 minutes each way to her office in central Tokyo, is among them.
“I take precautions, like wearing a mask, using hand sanitiser and not touching any of the handles on the train, but I would not say that I am particularly nervous about the virus,” she said. “And we went out to a restaurant for my husband’s birthday a few weeks ago.
“Compared with a lot of people, I would say that our behaviour has not changed so much, but this extension to the state of emergency is unfortunate. I do hope this situation is over soon and we can go back to normal again.”
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Jun Shigeno is in his third year of a business degree, and is busy applying for jobs. After dozens of online interviews and remote work experience placements, he has an employment offer, but he is still nervous that it could be withdrawn. A friend who was due to start work in the travel sector after graduating last spring was subsequently told that the position no longer existed.
“It is a big worry,” Shigeno said. “The coronavirus has not affected me very much as my lectures were all moved online quite quickly and I have been able to study from home, but all the interviews for jobs and work placements can only be done online, and that makes things much more difficult. I am worried that companies that are struggling will decide that they have to stop hiring new graduates, which will obviously affect my career.”
He said he was still wary about contracting the virus, though he admits his defences might have slipped over time. “I do not go out very often and I always wear a mask when I do, but I know that I’m less careful than I was last year,” he said.
